


I'm Here

by tea_of_momo



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Post-The Last: Naruto the Movie, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-02-29 16:17:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 60,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18781759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tea_of_momo/pseuds/tea_of_momo
Summary: It had felt like the world stopped the moment he wished to speak to her. After running from her inner conflicts and feelings towards Neji, Tenten realizes she must accept both him and herself in order to patch the damage made by the war, not realizing that the effort will make their devotion to one another even stronger than before.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This fanfiction was originally placed on fanfiction.net but I decided to start uploading my Nejiten stories on both platforms. This story takes place in "The Last" setting, post-war with Neji, of course, being alive and well (none of my stories in the future will Neji be dead). Thank you for taking the time to read through this and I hope you enjoy this completed Nejiten fanfiction.

Autumn had come quickly this year, turning the leaves of the trees into brittle, translucent colors that circulated in the chilliness of the breezes. Several days before the first official dawn of autumn began, she had known that this season would be much harsher. She had lived on this earth, in this village, for twenty years, and never had she experienced this kind of bitterness this early at the ending of the year. The fruitful possibilities of change were to blame presumably. 

To be entirely blunt, this attitude adjustment during this time hadn’t been caused by the suddenness of autumn to begin with, but with the ending of something far greater, something she had wished she had not been a part, an event that had been preventable if only circumstances had allowed. 

Silently, she sat still on a narrow and beaten log that was buried in the ground with years of harsh and brutal training sessions, scratches covering every inch from each day she had spent here alone. She didn’t move, didn’t sigh. Her eyes were too busy watching the clouds drift across in the stream of the sky, the lively blue reflecting the shine of light in a hue of the afternoon, a beauty that was taken for granted during these times. 

It was the song of a nearby bird that drew her dulled expression away from above and towards a branch that rested against the bark of a tree, its leaves nearly gone from the incoming cold. 

Leaning up against where the branch was connected to the bark of the tree, much like a tendon connecting bone and muscle, there was a nest, slightly bigger than her hand, full of random items such as cotton clumps, twigs, leaves, flowers, and thread enjoined in a ball that would house new life in the coming weeks. 

What drew her near, she did not know. 

She had felt herself rise from her seat, jumping down to let her feet pad against the softness of the dirt patches that scattered in the balding clumps of grass, rising to walk one step at a time to get a better look at what had caught her attention.

The bird she had heard was sitting within the nest, tangling and sticking each edge with mud or whatever could be spared in sparing the nest of the worst outcome. 

She stood, mute, just watching and was caught off guard as another bird fluttered into the nest, nudging the other patient and lovingly. The sight made a small smile take over her lips.

There were no eggs, not yet at least. But here, at this moment, was the love that began before more was made. Two beings, joined together to love each other, and to create the ultimate sign of their devotion to one another, the emotions and passion being carried on until that love was once again passed on to another.

Wings fluttered slightly, a feather escaping and soaring across the air in slow motion. She caught it in her grasp and stared at it, turning it over and over again, just looking at the gift the bird had given her. 

The white lashes were speckled with splotches of red and gray, scattering over the entirety of the feather. It must’ve belonged to the female, for the lack of dullness was sympathetic enough to be one of feminine beauty. 

Her smile drifted away as she let the feather falter in the breeze once again, blowing further away from her outreached hand. She watched it go for a moment and lowered her arm by her side, feeling the isolation, the same kind she had felt when it had happened.

Shaking her head, she waved away that memory, realizing that the outcome was still wonderful and she was happy that everything was alright, that life was going back to normal. 

Liar. 

She strolled back to the log, jumping to sit on it once again, returning to her state of boredom as her chestnut eyes reflected the clouds that continued to move across the sky, not standing still for a moment. 

How slow they were traveling, unlike her life. Each moment was moving quicker than the speed of light during these days and with this sudden approach of autumn, she had never been more assured of such changes until now. 

Nothing had changed between them.

The breeze brushed against her neck and her arms, sending shivers across her skin. The way it had felt, calming and gentle, was something she wanted to feel all the time, not cold, but in a warm way from someone’s embrace, a voice whispering love and protection.

Her hands had reached up behind her head, releasing the braid that had joined the two buns on her either side of her scalp, unraveling the bits of hair until all her strands that had been tied up for as long as she could remember fell, tumbling across the surface of her upper and mid back. Her scalp felt the release of pressure, throbbing slightly as it attempted to recover within her locks of brown waves.

The surface of her neck felt the warmth of her hair and she couldn’t help but sigh as the wind blew against her recovering scalp, making several strands blow across her cheeks and stick to her lips.

Her fingers brushed against her lips, pulling the hair away and sending it tucked away behind her ear. The freedom she had felt was only a taste of what she truly wanted, a preview of what she had yearned for since the ending of the war. The freedom to love and be loved. 

Such a stupid desire for someone like her was what she often thought whenever she had that sudden craving for someone to be by her side. Then again, it was impossible to forget those emotions when each one of her friends was marrying one another and she was left to attend the reception in a singular manner, faking her own happiness by wearing a mask that bore a smile.

She saw him, attending those weddings and wonderful occasions alive and well, a future that she hadn’t expected when he was pronounced dead during the dread of the final battle sequences. The way his eyes had shot open and the way he gasped for air as he breathed in new life was an event that made her heart stop yet again.

He had seen his cousin marry the man of her dreams, the cousin that he had protected and the same one that nearly cost him his life. 

The smile he had on his face that day was one that she would treasure for the rest of her life.

It was over now. She was alone and her deepest regret was never telling him the truth before he had “died”. He didn’t even know now, when he was alive and healthy, breathing and walking like nothing ever happened during that time. 

Her thoughts continued to falter as she soon took her leave of the log to lay against the large patch of grass just below, her body facing the top of the world, her chest rising and falling in a rhythm of orchestrated cues, her heart as the conductor.

The released strands of darkened locks fanned out against her shoulders as her fingers were interlocked behind her head, releasing the stiffness in her neck and leaving her relaxed and at peace.

How long she had stayed there like that, she could not recall easily. The peacefulness was something she needed and something that she didn’t really remember how long she had needed it. It was there and it was hers, even though the sun was beginning to set silently in the sky, colors of pastel stretching as the descent continued down into the horizon. She saw the flamboyant light streak across her skin, nearly blinding her as she squinted her eyes to continue to gaze at the world around her at its most vulnerable point. 

She knew that she should return home before the stars were twinkling in the black curtain of the night and yet, the ease she was feeling was an emotion she had been starved of for so long. It wouldn’t hurt to stay here like this a little longer. 

Her body curled onto its side, her hands resting against the ground for a few seconds as her fingers reached up to pull the zipper of her tunic down to her waist, revealing a mesh undergarment that covered her torso and only showed the outline of her breasts and not what was to be hidden on the inside. 

Hands resting beneath her temple, her breath softened, her eyes closed, and she took in the silence, the mute of her inner demons for granted. 

Within this state of meditation, her mind grew foggy as she drifted away from reality, her soul feeling uplifted as it showed her the dreams made amongst her own imagination and her own pondering thoughts. 

She didn’t fight it and had finally withdrawn as sleep consumed her.


	2. Chapter 2

_It was difficult to comprehend what memory was replaying in her head as she attempted to free her sight out of the dust cloud that had wrapped around her. The voices were muffled and blurred as they shouted verbal commands to another who then responded in the same tone. She felt herself begin to cough, waving her arm to clear away the powdered dirt that clung to her sight, running forward, attempting to find a way out. The agony in her slow pace irritated her tremendously and the voices were still unaccounted for. Her body turned and she ran in a different direction, falling onto her torso as she had lost her footing. Her eyes had been closed as she had fallen on something… stiff and rather cold. It couldn’t be the ground, for the texture felt of fabric and of a thick vest. She continued to cough as she crawled forward over the surface, her eyelids trying to shield herself away from the continued annoyance created by her circumstances._

_Did I fall on someone? She thought bitterly._

_Her palm landed on a gaping hole that was still intact with the stiffing surface, the area that might have been the chest if her unappealing question had been right all along and that it was a person that she had fallen on._

_From the gap, a warm, gushing liquid stuck to her, preventing her from moving any farther upward. Her fingers entangled themselves around a firm object as she shifted her hand to escape that dreaded feeling of stickiness that kept her trapped to the hole. Whatever the weird object was, it was leaking and, much like an overexerted water balloon, it was about to pop at any time._

_Her muscles screamed and she stopped, coughing out endless particles of dried soil, her lungs aching from the foreign bodies. Her paralyzed form left her with her hand still clutching the object and still on top of… the unknown._

_Though her body had stopped, she felt the need to open her eyelids, regardless of the dust that would blind her._

_She had to see the answers for herself._

_Like a creaking hinged door, her eyes opened to see a pale face, eyes opened narrowly, the pearls of lavender in the pupils dull and remorseful. She saw the black strands fall across the face and spread like a web amongst the ground beneath her and the person._

_The object pumped in her hand._

_Looking was the last thing she wanted to do. An understanding was the last resort she could do without._   
_Yet, her eyes betrayed her._

_The ripe heart was grasped in her hand, blood gushing out and spilling over her fingers, down her knuckles, and dripping down in her arm in streams._

_Her throat began to close as she looked back at the face._

_Please, she thought desperately. Please no… not this… I can’t-!_

_Her other hand moved and touched the face of the dead. The cold struck her fingertips as she reluctantly moved the hair away to see a clearer image of who this person was._

_She had known who it was, but her grief had stopped her from excepting that it was him, even as she smoothed the hair away and saw the depth of emptiness within his eyes._

_The scream that lay in her throat refused to come out and instead, she felt herself begin to choke on her own breath, sobs escaping and tears gathering in her eyes._

_The heart began to pump faster in her hand and right as she shifted her gaze to look back at it-._   
_It exploded._

_Warmth smeared and spattered her face, dripping across her gaping mouth and wide eyes, staining her skin that was turning white. The scream that was kept locked in her throat was building and when she tried to release it, nothing but a muted sigh came out. She felt the blood encircle past her lips, down onto her tongue, the iron taste absorbing into her taste buds._

_Her chest throbbed as she coughed and tried to get the foul liquid out of her mouth, gasping and sobbing in terror. It was an endless dream-, no, an endless nightmare that she wanted to escape from, even if that meant killing herself just to get out of it._

_Too much, it was all too much. There was nothing that could be done, no salvation could be reached in this hellish torture. She lay sputtering and spitting out blood that was not her own over his hardened chest, neck, and face, making both covered in his blood._

_It felt real. Was it real? What kind of dream is this?!_

_Finally, she felt herself give in and she screamed the dread and the terror that had filled up her throat all at once-._

And she awoke.  
…………………………………………………………………………………  
Her sweat clung to her skin cold, making her clothes sticky and damp. Her body felt like it had been put through a broiler for too long or that she had made like Icarus and flew too close to the sun. What foolishness it all was, to think that stupidly because it was already late into the night and possibly early into the morning.

She lay beneath silk sheets, her back soaking into the mattress beneath her with sweat. Quickly, she threw the sheets off, her legs instantly feeling the cool air brush against them. She took another breath as she sat up, looking around to see nothing but a darkened blue of her nightly perception.

Though she couldn’t see perfectly, the shapes of her dresser, the sword suspended on a table a few inches away from her bed, and her scrolls became noticeable and she could confirm that she was indeed in her room and in her own home. Although, what disrupted her ease the most was how she got there and when. She knew that she wasn’t dreaming when she was alone in the training area, sitting on the log, watching the two birds prepare their nest for their future children, releasing a feather, and watching the sunset because it all felt too real.

Her hand nimbly reached towards the top of her head, trying to feel for the usual buns that she wore, only to recall that she had let her hair go earlier in the day. She stroked the waving hair down towards her neck as her unease continued to grow. She knew that someone had brought her here and put her into her bed and that said someone wasn’t still hanging around as far as she could observe. It had to have been someone she knew of well or at least enough to entrust them as to where she lives. Only her circle of friends knew and the possibility of a creep managing to find out was close to zero. The chances of a stalker being the culprit were declined as her privacy and dismay in popularity was slim, just how she intended it to be for the sake of her own comfort and safety.

One action that laid true was that she didn’t want to sleep in a waterbed made of her own sweat and thus she reached over to the nightstand and turned on her boxed rice lamp.

A dim stretch of light made her shut her eyes and open them slowly as she tried to adjust to the sudden change. She stood up from her bed and with furrowed brows, neared the glass doors that etched onto a balcony.

It was pitch black across the village except for travel lamp posts that scattered amongst the roads in unison. Based on what she could witness, it appeared that everyone was sound asleep, which meant that she had been taken to her home a few hours ago, unless someone was trying to do some late-night training and happened to stumble across her sleeping on the ground like a tramp.

The curtains that she always closed when she was away were separated, meaning whoever brought her back here had probably already left as well. However, it wasn’t just the curtains and being in her home that unsettled her. It was the fact that she couldn’t figure out who had brought her back and who had the liberty to tuck her into bed.

Still, it was late and there was no point in asking questions that required answers from others.

She closed the curtains and grabbed at her clothing in the attempt to unstick the cloth from her skin. Her tunic was gone, leaving her with just the shallow pants she had on and her mesh undergarment. Nearby, her over shirt lay folded atop her dresser, clean and balanced as if it had never been touched or removed from a shelf.

“That’s really… creepy,” she whispered as she made her way to the dresser, pulling out a drawer and grabbing her clothing for sleep. “Geez, I know I should be more freaked out about this, but for some reason, I’m not. Am I going insane or am I just tired of my life?”

Her feet brought her to the bathroom door that lay connected to the bedroom on the far side, beside the dresser. The shock the tile brought her exposed skin felt wonderful as it cooled apart of her overheating body when she went to lay her clothes down on the countertop, turning to slide the glass doors of the shower open.

“God, I smell like I trained for an entire day straight!”

Her fingers reached the knob and she turned, making cold water blast from the showerhead and shuttered as she felt the cooling liquid wash away the sweat from her hand that adjusted the knob to the perfect temperature.

That nightmare, she thought grimly. It keeps occurring. What could I be thinking or holding in that has led me to keep seeing him in that state those three years ago? He’s fine now and yet-.

Her mesh undergarment came off her head and she tossed it on the floor, eventually pulling her pants and other articles of clothing off her sticky skin, throwing them into one pile.

No matter how hard I try to avoid thinking about that memory, it gets worse the more I try to numb it out.

Her foot dipped itself onto the cobblestone flooring of the shower.

It’s like every time I see him, I feel this impending amount of dread like it was my fault. I know it was his choice to do what he did-.

She lifted her other leg to step fully into the shower, feeling the water pour down her face, past her neck, and the rest of her frame, soaking her hair slower than time itself.

He probably thinks that I hate him. I’ve been avoiding him for so long now. I’m glad that he managed to survive and is living his life like the rest of us.

Her palms wiped her face as her fingers slid into her hair, moving it to get each strand wet.

His face… whenever I see him, I just think back. I don’t know if I feel hatred or just fear towards him.

The water kept running down as she stared at the drain with her soaking hair covering her viewing from either side.

I can’t just tell him about this…

Yes, I’ll just forget, I’ll move on from this, from him, from that memory! Then, I’ll be alright and cured of this disaster.

The door to her bathroom remained open as she cleansed herself since she never felt the need to close it if no one was in the same room or if her curtains were closed. She has been living alone long enough to know when she should conceal herself and when there could be danger lurking somewhere, dictating her own comfort zone in her home, because, after all, it was her home.  
………………………………………….  
He stood still on the balcony, admiring the silence as the wind blew his long black strands gently in front of his face and shoulders. It was just pure luck that he managed to hide from her sight when she had looked out at the village.

It had been several hours since he had found her lying on the ground in the middle of the training ground. A coincidence is a poor way to describe the situation because fate and destiny were intertwined in his heart and he knew that everything happened for a reason from the moment an infant is born and until it dies. It was just life, a concept that wasn’t always welcome for discussion amongst those outside of the clan during intimate or casual conversation.

He had felt something inside his chest drop as he thought the worst.

Did she…? Was she…?

Though he had confirmed that she just sleeping and there were no external injuries, he couldn’t take any chances.

There hadn’t been a reason to wake her up. She seemed deep in slumber, too far to be awakened with a mere poke or a punch, not that he would be one to punch her.

Still, he wasn’t going to leave her alone and he did what he knew he had to do.

It must’ve been several hours since he had arrived at her home with her in his arms. Fortunately, her balcony had been unlocked (he wasn’t surprised at this) and he managed to slip in without waking her. From there he watched to make sure she was really alright this time as he laid her down on her bed. It was fine until she began to make small whimpers, her expression composed of absolute fright with her eyes tightly shut.

He remembered standing from where he sat on the floor near her balcony entrance, rushing over to kneel next to her, his hands holding onto the edge of the mattress. Her whimpers grew more pitiful by the second and his concern was beginning to show through his calmness.

There was no point to wake her, he knew that it wouldn’t work regardless. She was in way too deep to come back to reality.

How long it felt just watching her suffer through her dreaming state. He didn’t know how many minutes had passed or hours for that matter until he looked towards the darkness coming from the outside and saw that it had been a while since he had first witnessed her be in a state of deep sleep.

She had begun to stir in her sleep and he took that as his cue to hide outside on her balcony in case she was to awake. He, of course, had barely made the door shut behind him when her eyes shot open and she sat up in her bed in a dumbfounded state.

And now he was in the present moment, waiting outside for her to go back to sleep. She had shut the curtains and he risked the chance of her freaking out if he were to go back inside. Who knows what she was doing, but the sound of spraying water answered his question immediately.

His sigh drifted into the air as he felt a shudder slide across his skin. She was fine and he knew that he had to sneak back into the clan’s household before sunrise. Or he could make up a fib and say he was training early in the morning and hope that they wouldn’t ask him the exact time of his leave.

If he did get into trouble with his uncle it wouldn’t matter. They could no longer use the curse mark against him for it had been the one to die, not him.

His fingertips reached up and touched his bare forehead that was now unmarked.

For the first time in my life, he thought solemnly. I am glad that I had that curse mark. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be alive right now, here, at this moment.

He couldn’t help but smile to himself.

I finally have the opportunity.

He jumped off the ledge, landing onto the roof of another building, his pace rather quickly as he was light on his feet and just as he was out of sight, she stood inside and opened the curtains.

The sun was slowly beginning to rise once again.


	3. Chapter 3

Her legs carried her as her mouth uttered nothing to the people who were gathered in clumps of vendors on either side of the village road that stretched from the gates to the steps leading up to the building in which the Hokage resided. How normal it all seemed from the eye, the way the villagers interacted with one another and the methods vendors use to boost their sales to tourists. How typical was it to see the same people walk the same road that had been used as a means of travel for decades. Nothing had changed and it was all the same as it was before the war. 

The buns were back in her hair as she strolled through, past the odd arrays of dome-shaped buildings and casual dining shops located on either side. It unsettled her to see that everything was normal while she felt anything but normal in her usual comfort zone. This may be her home, but it was missing something that a home has. 

What was it again?

A group of children nearly bumped into her legs as they ran in play, not watching where they were heading. She had been surprised as her mind had been elsewhere and not in the present or physical moment to see such an incident almost occur. It worried her that she was within her mind more than she was in the outside world, the place where things truly matter and yet, the anxiety was always short lived. 

The children had dodged her legs and ran past, laughing without a single care, as if the war had never happened to them or affected them in any way. It hadn’t made them fearful like it had with her nor had it made her heartbreak and rejoin as it did to hers. 

Her pain was internal.

Her brown eyes remained narrow as she continued to walk, looking at nothing but the switching of her feet against the ground with each step she took. What did it matter if she walked into a pole or into a person, nothing humiliated her more than her own weakness in hiding from what caused her the most pain. 

She had walked several more meters when a voice called out to her from behind. 

“Tenten!”

Upon her name being called, Tenten turned around and saw a familiar face run towards her, the green body suit making a horrid statement that was anything but youthful. He hadn’t changed a bit, had he?

She put on her cracked mask before she spoke.

“Lee? What is it?” her voice responded normally. 

“What do you mean, Tenten?” he asked as he stopped short in front of her. “It has been a few weeks since I last spoke to you. Were you on a mission?”

She laughed and shook her head.

“Come on, you know that there is a limited supply of missions to go on these days! Everyone is too busy trying to make peace with other villages and cleaning up the aftermath.”

“Oh-.”

“I’m sorry Lee, but I really should go,” Tenten said as she waved him off while she turned around. 

“Tenten, wait!”

With an agitated sigh, she turned, facing her side to him.

“Lee, I really need to-,”

“I was told to find you.”

Tenten’s eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. It wasn’t like Lee to be so antsy and the more she observed him, the more she realized that his seriousness was not a trick. Someone truly had told him to get her.

“Who told you?” she asked slowly. 

He didn’t respond. His eyes with their thick eyebrows were narrowed as he tore his eye contact away from her face. He was muttering something as he fidgeted with his fingers. 

“Lee,” she insisted passively, her patience growing short. “Who asked you to get me?”  
His hand reached out and he grabbed her wrist. 

“I am sorry, Tenten,” he responded rapidly. “I am not allowed to tell you. Come with me and you’ll see!”

Lee took off running, dragging Tenten behind him as she tried to keep up. She didn’t fight him and she didn’t scold him. It was Lee and she was Tenten, it was her job to try and go through with his intentions, no matter how stupid or ridiculous they seemed. She had thought the green jumpsuit was the weirdest it would get. She was proven wrong within a day.

“Lee, slow down!” she cried out as they barely dodged an elderly couple near a fruit vendor. “I’m sorry!” she called back to them as they giggled to each other. 

Tenten’s cheeks turned a bright rose at the embarrassment Lee’s scene was causing her.

“There is no time to slow down!” he exclaimed. “This is for the sake of your youth!”

My youth? She wondered dully. Oh yeah, that’s right. I forgot how obsessed he still is with youth and guts and all that shit.

His hold on her wrist was not easing and she felt herself fall behind to his pace that was quickening by the second. This was why she never really enjoyed sparring or training with him. He pushed himself and it was often made her muscles ache just watching him do 5,000 pushups or 100 miles of just walking on his hands for the sake of their teacher who was confined to a wheelchair after overexposing himself during a crucial showdown. 

Still, being with Lee and their teacher was what took her mind from the issues that lay unresolved. Tenten was the one who had to make sure they didn’t get too stupid and end up hurting themselves. She was thankful that she wasn’t instilled to that duty alone, as he was the one that sided with her when she got annoyed or humiliated. 

That’s right, she thought with melancholy. It was always him that was by my side during moments like those that should’ve made me feel alone in caring for those two knuckleheads. I felt like the mother and he was the father-.

Her thoughts were brought to a halt on that statement.

She knew she shouldn’t be thinking of him, especially not in that way. She didn’t even know if he was married yet or had someone he was interested in. Knowing his clan and what they want to preserve, he would probably marry his cousin. 

No, no, no! She was over him. He would just make her remember, he would make her have those awful nightmares that lasted an eternity, and he would break her heart again. It bothered her how much she did to avoid him at all costs, as it felt like he was everywhere she was. It was impossible to get away from him and his view. 

And it was painful.  
…………………………………………………………….  
The brisk current of autumn air had continued to encircle the dying leaves that fell from the naked trees, their branches thin with sharpened tips that looked like an old woman’s boney fingers pointing at each passerby that had the unfortunate liberty to stroll past. Though the firing of the sun had reached its peak up in the atmosphere and beyond, little of its heat could be felt as the brittleness of the breeze dimmed out the chance of sweating or overheating. Such a circumstance was greatly appreciated in the village as the summer before had been a death sentence. It was the biggest heatwave reported on record and the biggest reason for the increase in the number of hospital beds taken up was due to stroke or dehydration while training or being away on missions. Most didn’t dare venture out, but ever since autumn had come, more people had come out of their dwellings to meet with others and vendors were increasing their sales income with the sweeping tourists that were visiting from the other villages. It was a pleasure to not hear residents complain about the cold, because now, unlike the last few years, they embraced and welcomed it with open arms. 

It was times like this that Tenten would opening describe such hysteria as typical human nature. People, in general, were never satisfied with what they had. The desire to want the weather to be cooler ends up wanting the weather to be warmer. Nothing was ever enough for anyone. 

She was no different. 

The amount of time she had felt useless was unaccounted for. Forever is how long she believed it had lasted. Always behind her team, always underestimated, never given the chance to prove herself to be stronger or to be of real comfort to anyone. Did that mean she was destined to be alone for the rest of her life, however long it intended to last? 

Was she just cursed as being unfavorable?

That question was never neglected, never avoided. It was true, wasn’t it?

It was inevitable. 

Much like how Lee had basically forced her to tag behind him to meet whoever it was that wanted to see her. 

Being in this state of thought had made her unaware of her legs and feet burning to keep up with Lee, her breath increasing to fuel her muscles, and the understanding of where she was. It felt like three hours had passed deep within her mind while it had only been at least ten or fifteen minutes.

She nearly toppled over Lee as he stopped suddenly.

They were in the village cemetery.

Her anxiety could only build inside her chest as she turned her head left and right, making sure that her mind wasn’t just playing tricks on her. The reassurance was anything other than calm. 

Lee released his hold on her wrist and turned around to give a large thumb up and an exaggerated smile that made his teeth sparkle. 

“Well, Tenten,” he began cheerfully. “We made it and my work here is done! Farwell!”

Tenten watched, bewildered as she saw Lee shoot up into the trees and launch himself from the branches, returning from whence he came. 

“WAIT, LEE!” she yelled after him. “YOU NEVER TOLD ME WHO WANTED TO SEE ME!”

She was silent for a moment before she shouted once more, “Don’t leave me by myself in a graveyard!”

Tenten released a paralyzing sigh. 

She was alone once again.

Standing still for a few moments, she chose to explore the area and find out who wanted to meet with her rather than turn around and head back. After all, Lee had seemed urgent and frazzled to get her to come with him, so it must be of great importance.

Right?

One step after another, her sandals tapped against the narrowing stone tiles that led around and in between the graves of loved ones that had passed on naturally or in battle, connecting the souls of family and friends, enemies, and even lovers. The number of funerals she had attended was something she never counted or took a record of. Death is not something that can be replenished; it is the willingness to allow another to take one’s place and make the world better. It was the way a flower dies so that an entire field can take over. We grieve over death and we rejoice over birth, an endless cycle that is punishing or awarding. 

Each stone she walked past had a name and each body buried beneath (or not) had a story. What diminished her willingness to accept death was not the absence of a person, but rather, the realization that, over time, they would look the same as the others, nothing but a skeleton wearing some nice clothes. Who was to say that the person in the ground could be merely examined from afar to determine if the said person was the one that the gravestone claimed was beneath it? 

Drifting, she continued to walk, staring down and reading the names. She was brought to a halt near the end of the second row of burial sites. It was marked with a name that sounded exceedingly familiar to her, the last name was relevant. It was his last name after all.

After lingering for several moments of silence, she felt herself sit with her feet and legs resting beneath her as she gave peace to the man that was sleeping underneath. The one who was just another well-dressed skeleton trapped in a box and buried within the earth. 

The tile felt warm against her skin, the only warmth she had felt since the day began. It was comforting to her, to feel like someone was with her, watching over her as she sat in front of the man’s grave. She knew that she was alone in this world and maybe it would be that way forever. 

Her hand reached out as the ends of her nimble fingers stroked the stone.

Fresh flowers had been placed at the foot of it along with candles that had already burned out with the approaching winds. Bowls sat on either side along with a cup of green tea that was near the far right corner. 

Even though he was dead, he was still loved and not forgotten. 

Her heart weakened as she felt her bottom lip quiver. 

It didn’t make any sense. Knowing that her past teammate could’ve ended up here made her gulp back a sob. The memory kept returning and she felt herself hunch over, tears falling and splashing onto the tile. 

Why? Her mind began to cry out. Why did you do that? Why did you almost get yourself killed? It’s your fault that I am confused and isolated. It’s you who is making me suffer each day. I can’t even think about you without falling apart again. I hate you! I HATE YOU.

“Tenten?”

Her tears stopped as her eyes widened with recognition of the voice that had spoken to her.

She froze.

How could she have let her guard down like that? 

Footsteps approached her.

Closer. Closer. Closer.

He was right beside her.

She felt his presence as she stood near her crouching form, her breath small and silent. Another tear had escaped her lashes and had smeared down her cheek.

She didn’t need to turn, she didn’t need to look.

The voice said it all.

It was indeed him, the man she has been avoiding, growing tense around, and isolating herself from. The one she had said she hated in her thoughts, the one she saw dead in her dreams, the owner of the heart she clutched.

Neji.


	4. Chapter 4

There stood silence as Tenten had made the bold move to look up at the one person she had been avoiding for so long now, the friend that she grieved over, the teammate that hadn’t died out of his own acceptance to his fate, and the man she thought she could live without. Right before her, was where he stood, looking foolishly aloof in compensating the sudden change in her demeanor as she stared at him, her eyes wide with surprise as more tears fell down her cheeks. Her voice muttered nothing and she quickly used the back of her hand to dry her tears as she stood up, turning around to run anywhere. She didn’t care where she ran to. Anywhere safe, anywhere she didn’t have to see him, to hear his voice, to gaze into the reflection he held in the pearls of his eyes. 

Those eyes haunted her thoughts and her dreams, propelling in a dead narrowing gaze that would always look up at her face, dull and clouded over as she could do nothing but stare deeply into them, searching for an answer to the same question that echoed in her skull. 

Are you truly dead? Are you really gone forever?

He never spoke to her in her dreams, because despite her knowing the truth, the acceptance of such a reality was painful. She knew that she would wake up and somewhere, his clan’s home, the village market, the ramen shop… he was alive. Today he only bore scars on his chest and the sides of his abdomen, hidden by his robe, from the disaster that war had created for him and for her. 

Just as she had spun around and had taken off, his hand grasped her wrist and pulled her back to him slightly. She tried to wiggle out of his hold on her, but he had her beat with his own strength.

“Tenten,” he called soothingly. “Please, let me talk to you.”

She shook her head, refusing to look back at him, her eyes squeezing shut as she fought off the frustrated tears that threatened to escape. There was no real reason that she was crying. She had no idea why she had broken down in front of him, of all the people too. Was it always there? Was the pain just growing inside of her and waiting until this moment to spill over?

“Tenten!” he scolded, a bit harsher than before. “If there is ever going to be a time when you need to let me talk to you, let it be now. I don’t care if you continue to avoid me in the future, but not now. This time, I need you to hear me and I need you to listen.”

“Don’t scold me like a child!” she hissed back at him, fighting to free herself despite her knowing that she didn’t stand a chance against strength like his. 

“I will if it will get you to look at me and listen to what I have to say.” Neji retorted impatiently, all his calmness turning into a wave of annoyance and desperation for her to stay.

Without truly understanding, rather than knowing that he had to, he yanked her backward, making her stumble into his torso. He released her wrist and used both of his hands on her shoulders to turn her around so that she was staring into his eyes. 

Tenten’s mouth gaped slightly as if she were to say something. All the came out was silence and she closed her lips, parting them ever so dimly. 

He was just as she remembered him. The length of his hair was still long and dark, except it was no longer tied back towards the end. His eyes still had the ivory glazed within them as a trademark of the clan he was born into. The only thing that was missing was that curse mark, the one he always hid, the one he had been tormented with his entire life. It was gone from his forehead. 

His eyes were being in a stance of dominance as he became stern with her, his hands never leaving the sides of her shoulders to hold her in front of him.

At her expression, Neji’s eyes softened as he formed a small grin. 

“Will you be willing to listen to me now?” he muttered softly, never averting his gaze from hers. 

Tenten’s response was merely a sullen nod as she closed her eyes in utter defeat, only opening them wide once again as he had released her shoulders and had beckoned her to follow him. Half was torn. Her heart wanted to stay while her mind wanted to run away from her own emotions and disbelief. 

Earnestly, she complied and followed behind as he led her out of the maze of stones and into the side garden nestled right beside the cemetery.  
……………………………………………  
As much as she enjoyed the peacefulness, Tenten couldn’t help but feel nervous when she saw no one else around in the same area. It made sense, considering that the wind was supposed to pick up towards the evening and no one really wanted to be hit in the face with their own hair, petals, or leaves. Even in autumn, the deserted garden lay beautiful and still, hedges gathered at hexing wooden posts, vines climbing and wrapping themselves around each other, the leaves still thick and ripe from the summer. There was a small trail that entered and led to the marble fountain that held a statue of Mito, a beautiful wife that had the radiance of fire in her flaming hair. Oddly enough, Mito wore her hair in two buns, the same as Tenten usually did and the sculptor made sure that her signature hairstyle was in the marble of the statue. 

For a garden, it was quite large and spacious, accommodating private weddings and proposals of young couples that wondered in after escaping from their parents’ watchful eyes. It always annoyed Tenten to see such a sight, for it was significantly common in such a place and it was just so cliché to her. 

Fortunately, several flowers remained, such as citrus roses that hung among the hedges that leaned against the wooden walls, daisies spread out among the grass, and marigolds as well as geraniums in the bushes that were scattered throughout. White benches, dirtied from the past years, lay spread out, gathered around the fountain, hidden beneath a wall of flowers or greenery, and sometimes where one would least expect it. 

And when it was as silent and empty as it was in that moment, it was a sanctuary.

Tenten was still trying to process why Neji had been so straightforward as he led her into the new place. It was better than a location where a bunch of decaying bodies lay, so Tenten really couldn’t complain about the sudden movement.

The fountain was where he stopped as he sat on one of the discoloring benches, using his head tilt to signal for her to sit beside him in the formalist of manner. She complied uneasily. 

There was distance, at least a few inches. He knew that she didn’t want to be here with him especially and he really didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. The room she had between her and him was fine if she was willing to stay and allow him to finally speak to her after such a long time of ignorance and isolation.

He had much to say to her. None came out as she sat down beside him. 

Tenten didn’t look at him and instead studied that marbling statue that lay before her atop the fountain, looking entranced as she waited for him to speak.

“Before I say anything,” Neji began softly. “I want to ask you a question that has been haunting me for a while now.”

He took her silence as an indication that she was listening.

“Why have you been ignoring-, no, avoiding me ever since the war ended?”

Tenten’s lips remained closed as she closed her eyes as if she were deep in a penetrating stance of thought. How outright should she be to him? Her trust still existed and so did her awareness of her relationship with him. Yet, it was so difficult to form a sentence that summed it all up, her pain of having to see his dead face almost every night in the same setting, waking up wanting to scream as sweat poured and flooded across her skin.

“I’m not going to answer that,” she mumbled as she opened her eyes, still avoiding his gaze. “I want to know what you have to say first and then I may be considering explaining to you my reasoning.”

She heard a deep sigh release from his chest. 

There was no point in arguing with her. There would be no winner and the last thing he wanted was for her to storm out because he had “won” the argument with logic. It was not the time nor the place for him to start a fire he couldn’t stop.

His hands folded in his lap as the wind blew bits of his long hair to the side, the cold breeze making Tenten shiver slightly. 

“Tenten,” he responded in a calming tone. “My clan has been speaking to me about this for a few months now, ever since Lady Hinata left to get married to Naruto. It has been a topic of debate ever since I was born and I have to make the choice now.”

He heard her gulp.

“It is my time to marry.”

Tenten stiffened and felt a glass shatter inside her. Her finger twiddling was getting worse on her thighs as her mind raced through millions of thoughts, hoping that he wasn’t going to say that he has chosen to marry a woman inside of his clan. It was crucial to keep the bloodline going and it made her lungs ache as she tried to breathe regularly. 

Why did it still hurt so much? Why didn’t these emotions go away during her time of isolation like she thought they would?

“Good for you,” she muttered, looking at the ground beside her. She didn’t want him to see into her eyes and into her soul. She was an open book to her emotions just as he was an avid reader. He knew her and she hated how much he did. 

“Tenten-,”

She stood up as he tried to speak to her.

“If that’s all you must say, then I’m going,” she scoffed with her back turned towards him.

“Tenten-!”

Her feet didn’t stop pushing her forward, the pain edging her heart to leave. She didn’t want to hear about any of this, she didn’t want those emotions or feelings towards him to suddenly bubble up. If she had any of those feelings still towards him, she suppressed them the best she could as she continued to walk away as he called her.

Her anger was replaced with sadness and deep longing that would never be filled. She had no reason to care about him and yet, after isolating herself from him, seeing his face made something churn in her heart, making it beat pleasantly faster. 

It was over now. Done forever. Her heart was in agony as she forced herself to walk away, not desiring to hear what else he wanted to say to her. 

Until his hand grabbed hers.

“Tenten, you’re the one I want to marry.”

She halted where she was, unaware that he had been so close to her, enough to hold her hand in his as she tried to leave. 

Whatever it was, hearing those words, a statement she never thought she would hear him say to her, made her pride snap, her world freezing on where it rotated within its axis.

How was she supposed to answer him when she couldn’t answer most of her own questions about herself?

Neji’s grip was punctual against her skin, warm to the touch as he continued to hold it.

“Tenten, please look at me.” He whispered from behind.

She turned, slowly, and the moment she considered his eyes, tears dribbled and rolled down her cheeks, dripping off her chin. 

“This isn’t funny! Whoever set you up for this-!”

“No one set me up. This was my choice from the very beginning.”

“Neji-,”

“Tenten-,”

“I-I don’t understand-,”

“You don’t have to. I know it’s a lot to take in right now and I know that you are angry with me for this suddenness, but in truth, I’ve wanted to marry you ever since the war ended-I, no, longer than that, before that mess.”

“But,” she cried out. “I’ve distanced myself from you for so long! I avoided you on purpose! I see that moment in my dreams, Neji, of you dying! Whenever I see your face or think about you, I think back to how you had been impaled! You died, Neji! You died and when you came back to us, I didn’t-, no, I couldn’t believe it! The shock is still affecting me! Do you realize how much it hurts to feel like I shouldn’t be near you anymore? And now I’m crying in front of you and I look so weak and pathetic-!”

He listened intently, his hand still firmly in hers, holding as she cried in front of him.  
That was why. It was because of him and the pain he had caused her after that day. It all made sense now. At least, he wanted to believe it did.

Tenten’s eyes continued to shine as they were moistened with tears, her sniffling making her body shake. As she went to wipe her eyes, Neji grabbed her other hand, pulling her into his chest, his arms wrapped around her tightly as she widened her eyes over his shoulder, softening, as more tears fell. He was bending down slightly, holding her head above his shoulder so that her chin rested on top. 

“You’re still as hopeless and as stubborn as ever, Tenten,” he chuckled slightly against her ear. 

Her arms, once hanging down by her sides, reached up and clutched onto the back of Neji’s robe, her sobbing continuing as she tucked her chin and let her forehead rest against his shoulder. 

“I think you enjoy seeing me cry.” She sniffed into his robe.

“I would have to disagree. If anything, I find it rather reassuring. I can’t remember the last time I saw you in this state. I wish I could’ve seen your face before I ‘died’…” 

Her body stiffened.

“Tenten?” he whispered.

She pulled herself out of his embrace, stepping back to avoid his observations once more.

Nothing but the wind spoke in the lingering pause of conversation. 

Tenten bit the inside of her bottom lip as her tears came to an abrupt hold, the pathways still marking her cheeks and her neck with forced calamity in her breath. Whatever it was, something tore like cloth that had been grasped on either side and slowly stretched, making the threads lose their hold and split. 

The void that she drained so long ago had water rush back into it again, only to be dried out by the deafening warmth of fear. It was the unwillingness to accept the truth as reality, the emotion he had presented to her. She didn’t understand his intentions or if this was a joke. Neji wasn’t one to be the joking type and he kept his emotions at bay constantly. It was seldom that she saw Neji express an uncontainable array of happiness, much less the love he felt for someone. None of it seemed real. 

He reached his hand out to touch her, but she pulled away further fearfully.

This wasn’t the Neji she had trained with for years now. He wasn’t the same Neji that had been annoyed with Lee when a spar was endlessly requested. This was a fake. There was no way that he would ask her to marry him. It was a lie, a sick, cruel joke that someone was making him do. 

“I should go,” Tenten muttered as she turned away, running out of the garden as Neji reached out for her.

She heard him call her name, but he did not follow her. 

She let her body retreat, forcing her to run with a stagger in her breath. And she didn’t stop until she had shut herself in her apartment, her door locked, her curtains shut, and her face buried against her pillow as whimpering sighs reflected within the loneliness of the room.


	5. Chapter 5

It was raining that evening.

For several days now, clouds had blotted the sky with a bewitching atmosphere, darkening the shadows that wandered past on the roads. The shine from the sun had become a memory in the past, a retaliation of what was hidden beneath the surface of every smile. Patters as the droplets tapped against the window panes were heard in the early morning, a flowing stream thought of in the afternoon and towards the evening, and booming thunder that rattled the walls of dwellings appeared in a cycle with a different perspective on what was necessary and what was inappropriate.  
Then, it would all start over once the morning came around. 

This repetition felt like an endless dream. Nothing felt new and nothing felt different. There was something that wasn’t right, an element that had been misplaced, and a conflict that didn’t have a real solution. Day fell as night rose and night fell as day rose. Nothing had changed in the perspective of the real world. As much as it wasn’t wanted to be admitted, the constant patterns of rain and all the linear data had expressed a stillness in the way life was meant to be going about. People didn’t seem right, friends didn’t seem honest or loyal, and families grew distant while the pain of having to go through another day, in the same way, was becoming a force of habit, an unwelcome one in which was as undesired as unexpected. 

How cruel was this mockery towards what was meant to be believed as the truth? The severity in the lies, the cheating in the game, and the losing of value were becoming a standing target of manipulation, a sick joke that strived to tear and destroy once the truth came out. Nothing was fair. Nothing could be believed if it wasn’t in the knowledge of what was real and what was not. Fate was unjust in many ways and, when paired with destiny, it often traveled on its own path of conspiracy, believing that it could live without the other.

Yet that lie was one she wanted to believe in.

Salt enhancing tears had stopped flowing during the last few days, but her thoughts continued to grow feeble with each new idea her mind brought her attention to. It couldn’t have been real, it was all a sick joke someone wanted him to get in on. She was already taunted and teased for not being hand in hand with another individual’s heart. It was disgusting to make her feel this happiness and to rip it apart only a few seconds after she had fallen for it. 

No, there was no evidence that showcased her marveling disadvantage on accepting what he said as the reality of it all. As hard as she tried, there was not one spout of proof she could use to prove her theory and while she sulked on the mention of such a conclusion, it deepened whatever hope she had left for the future. The willingness to accept whatever fate and destiny had in store for her was a devotion she was unwilling to make, because the hope that had been buried under negligence and pity by others was blossoming, slowly and narrowly, making progress as she went about her day and as she put her body to rest at night. Much like the rain, it was an endless reoccurring cycle for her, lasting far longer than this change in weather. 

There was no sitting still for her. She couldn’t last just being atop her bed, her face buried into the cushioning of the pillow as she wept for her own self-pity. Crying was a human action she would rather not partake in and what made this restriction worse was the memory that was now engraved forever in her brain of her doing just that in front of him. He saw each tear that fell, he heard each sniff and sob she had cried out, and he felt her grab onto the back of his robe when he had embraced her. She couldn’t blow off the honesty in saying that it had been such a wonderful feeling that she hadn’t felt in so long, of being touched in a loving way or being hugged in general, comforted at her worst time. Her eyes never showed weakness and through tears had leaked through and he had broken past her barrier, the glimmer never dulled and her faith in her strength was just increasing after such an experience. He couldn’t break her, was what she wanted to think. She wanted to promise herself that he would disappear from her life soon. It was a part of her plan of action to move on, away from the nightmares and the sweltering unraveling of confusing signals and emotions she felt towards him. And it had all worked out perfectly until that day in the garden close to 72 hours into the past.

He may have foiled her goal of forgetting him, but he made something within her heart alive again, a piece that had been broken and lost somewhere, one that he made in place of the original just for her.

Why was he doing this? Was he being the serious Neji she had known for so long now? 

No, he never expressed his emotions to such an extreme. It didn’t feel like it had been Neji speaking to her when he had said that he wanted to marry her. After everything she had done to avoid him, to make their relationship as both friends and teammates, he still felt the need to want to marry her, to make him her husband for the rest of her life. None of it made any sense to her. If anything, he should hate her. He should’ve given up on her and just went along with it. She wasn’t worth the fight and she shouldn’t have been in his mind as he chose a wife that was meant to only be his forever. 

What were his true intentions?

These thoughts penetrated the conversation that argued within her skull over what he said. It had only been a few words, a mere sentence, a statement that he had directed at her and no one else. She wanted to believe in what he said and what he was saying, but she couldn’t, not because it was Neji, but because it was her and what she had tried to do for several months now. The way he had used his eyes to stare into hers in a way that was serious and mature, made her spine tingle. It made her consider the accuracy in his honesty. The other portion of her was quick to shoot that down with disbelief and the feelings of inadequacy. She was starting to think that she was becoming as crazy as her confined teacher and his devoted look-a-like and act-alike pupil.

There is no guarantee in what her next plan of action was in dealing with Neji. She didn’t know where to begin or how to get towards the end. He was unavoidable now. The pain in seeing him suffer within her dreams was maddening, however, since that day he had spoken to her in such a calming manner, the nightmares had stopped and were replaced with dreams that filled her head with utter peacefulness. Just that small change made her stress level sink with her intuitiveness to accept what had happened. It was a true experience and it wasn’t just a mere dream she would remember at odd times and smile randomly at in public. It was one she would tell someone, one she would share with someone and one that he and she could share if she-.

If I became his wife.  
………………………………………………………………………………………………………  
Her room was still engulfed in darkness when she opened her eyes to the inequity of the morning. The calmness had been managed efficiently as the storm that had occurred that previous night was a rather ghastly and dangerous one. Thunder was a sound she wasn’t typically afraid of, but this storm’s claps and booms had made her jump and bury her face under her sheets within the deepness of the night.

Once again, droplets sprinkled and fell against her balcony window as the early morning was occupied by restlessness to depart to the outside world once again. She knew that the children were kept inside despite their bursting energy and the flourishing number of visitors became limited as they had to be inside their inns all day as they awaited the end of this shower. Though it was unsettling to not see so many people about like usual, Tenten couldn’t help but appreciate the social break given to her with the introduction of a change in weather. Her mind had been too occupied with diminishing thoughts that only got louder and louder within the range of voices on either side of her. The more she heard the chatter of others, the more paranoid she became in them noticing and reading her thoughts that had made its mark on her expression.

The silence was so captivating that upon hearing a knock at her door Tenten let out a small gasp while she stared up at her ceiling. Sitting up, she pulled the sheets off her legs, swinging them off the side to stand. Mustering a yawn, she scratched the side of her head, the free strands laying against in her back in tangles and in an abundance of waves from the day before. 

“Coming,” she yawned once again as she reached the door and turned the knob.  
Tenten blinked a few times to clear the blurriness away in her eyes, splotches of a familiar violet captivating a certain portion of her viewing point.  
“Hinata?”  
A small grin was against Hinata’s lips as she found amusement in Tenten’s morning hue, the lilac of her eyes matching those of his.  
“Good morning, Tenten,” she greeted softly. “I really hope that I am not intruding. I know it’s early-,”  
“Don’t worry about it! Really, it’s fine. Please, do come in.” Tenten responded hastily as she opened her door wider.  
She stepped aside, allowing Hinata to enter. And, as the door proceeded to be closed, a feeling of weariness grew heavy in Tenten’s chest, but with a silent sigh, she let it consume her.  
…………………………………………………………………………….  
The world continued on outside as the dim continuation of silence was abruptly severed as Tenten approached with a wooden tray of jasmine tea. She joined Hinata from across the small table standing on the floor a few feet away from her dresser, sitting on a coal-colored cushion with her legs resting underneath her. 

“Here you go,” she offered as she set down one of the cups in front of Hinata, placing a cup in front of herself before setting the tray down. 

“Thank you, Tenten,” Hinata said gratefully, the cup warming her palms. “I feel terrible for coming by so early in the day.”

“No, it’s seriously fine, Hinata,” Tenten ushered hastily as she relaxed onto the cushion. “I was just so surprised to see you come by. I haven’t really seen you in so long. I honestly thought that you had forgotten about me.”

“I would never forget a dear friend,” Hinata cooed softly. “Besides, I have been unable to visit much since the preparations for Naruto and I’s home has begun. It is taking a lot more work than I initially thought it would before we came back from our travels.”

Tenten raised an eyebrow as she took a quick sip from her cup, placing it back down on the table with a light thud. “That’s right! You two went to some awesome locations from what I’ve heard. Ah, wait-, the rain didn’t get you on the way here, did it? I can’t believe that I forgot to ask before you came in, but I wasn’t sure since you weren’t wearing a jacket or carrying an umbrella.”

Hinata chuckled lightly. 

“No, I managed to get here before the rain began. To be completely honest with you, I was stumbling around the halls trying to remember which of these rooms belonged to you. It feels like forever since I last came by to see you.”

“Yeah, this building is pretty tricky to maneuver,” Tenten laughed solemnly. “I don’t get a lot of visitors, so I don’t really end up having to tell very many people about where I live. That, and I enjoy some alone time after dealing with Guy-sensei and Lee.”

A pit in her stomach grew as she prayed her unhappiness was still invisible through her mask of laughter. It wasn’t Hinata that was the influencer of such dismay, nor was it the lack of visits Tenten received that recoiled her into a tight ball. It was the pain that had been held within her, one that she pushed further and further down, increasing the tension of her inner battles of acceptance and demeanor. How many years has it been since it all began, this feeling of emptiness encompassing the driest drought of the century? No answer would be able to fulfill the promise of a solution and even with Hinata as her friend, the only thing she knew how to do was suppress that sadness to where it hid in her shadows of lies and dishonesty, the one place only Tenten could unlock and view.

“Tenten,” Hinata mumbled, intruding on the reality that replayed in Tenten’s skull during that duration.  
“Yes?”

“There…is a reason why I came here. I wanted to talk to you about a certain… issue.”

A boulder dropped inside.

Tenten met Hinata’s gaze, noticing the sudden seriousness that blemished within the ivory of her lilac eyes, reflecting a side that Tenten rarely saw in Hinata. 

Just hearing her say that and seeing the expression she held in her eyes made Tenten twiddle her fingers from underneath the table.

“O-okay, about what?” she stuttered light-heartedly as her anxiety grew. 

“Neji.”

If it were possible, Tenten could’ve sworn her pulse had been halted for several long seconds after hearing that name, an impending doom making that dread fill up as it willed the desire to drown her. She hoped that Hinata hadn’t seen the sudden change in her own expression, but it was too late. That mask she always wore was cracking once again.

When Tenten didn’t respond, Hinata continued to look at her, seeing the reality of what Tenten was feeling and what she had going through her head upon that name being announced to her. Her powers to see physical objects was only a small percentage of her ability to read the deepest darkest feelings of others even when they faked their own happiness for the sake of not being in the center of attention. And Hinata sensed every feeling of worry, regret, fear, and anxiety Tenten flashed in the depths of her pupils and in the beats of her heart. 

Tenten shifted in her seat, unsettled by the sudden seriousness that was captivating the casual conversation she had intended to have. 

“I would rather not talk about him,” she mumbled under her breath, gaze fixed on the floor beside her. “It isn’t the best time-.”

“If it wasn’t the best time to discuss him, then I wouldn’t have come over.” Hinata retorted patiently. 

Silence.

“Tenten-.”

“How much did he tell you?”

Hinata parted her soft pale lips as her eyebrows furrowed as she plotted out an answer. Truthfully, Hinata had spent hours practicing would she would say to Tenten at this moment when the day finally came, rehearsing whenever she could when she had the time to be alone (which wasn’t very often) and prompting the possible reactions Tenten would express upon such a conversation. She knew what to say, that is if Tenten was willing to corporate and according to Neji, she wasn’t.

“He’s been coming to me about you for several years, not just about the incident that occurred a few days ago in the garden when he told you what he has been meaning to tell you for so long now.” Hinata ushered coherently. 

Tenten finally rose to her feet, her hands balled into tightly clenched fists at her sides.  
“What? All I can say is that the person who spoke to me in the garden was not Neji! For as long as I’ve known him, the feelings and emotions he’s always had were kept deep inside. The Neji I knew and met way back when we had just graduated from the academy may have evolved from an asshole to a dignified and well-rounded man, but none of that has changed when it comes to how he presents himself. Besides, I don’t get it. I don’t want to get it. He has always been about rules, destiny, and fate, so why would he choose me? It doesn’t make sense, Hinata!”

When no response came, Tenten pressed on, walking away from the table and pacing the room as if she were speaking to just herself.

“He may be alive, but no matter where I go, that memory haunts me. In my dreams, in my thoughts, in my memories… I can’t have one day pass by without the torment he has put on me. Yes, it isn’t completely his fault and I am glad he is alive and well and yet, I keep pushing him away so that he may become dead to me.”

She stopped beside her curtains, drawing them back to stare into the gloom that filled the streets as the showers continued to fall and drip against the panes.

Hinata could see her friend’s reflection in the glass, an expression filled with confusion and doubt, pain and worry, fear and regret. It was an emotional conflict Tenten had been keeping locked away for several years now and the cork was about to become loosened as the bottle of acceptance was pressurized. It seemed as though in the end, both Neji and Tenten shared the same dismay at the presence of being separated from each other.

“Tenten are those your true intentions?” 

She didn’t turn back to look at Hinata, only looking down without uttering a word or performing an action that would answer the pressing question. It would only create more pain in her chest to pick one of two answers. Just knowing that made her feel numb with uncertainty.

“I… don’t know.” She mumbled under her breath.

Within a few uneasy seconds, she turned her body away, letting the curtain fall back in place to block the sight of the outside world. The tension was too simple to see on her face and as she walked to sit on her bed, Hinata felt the despair of confrontation developing into a larger and much more threatening being, a monster under the bed or in thought, creating disorder and an array of unfathomable opinions, reasonings, and intuition that was often proven to be wrong. In simple terms, this problem was eating Tenten up on the inside as it was beginning to reveal itself on the outside hiding behind a flimsy smile of well-being. Hinata couldn’t help but pity her friend for holding in everything up until this point.

She scooted over in front of Tenten, who was sitting on the bed with her face hidden in her hands. Taking them, Hinata removed Tenten’s hands away from her face to settle them into hers. She saw tears sparkling in the brown eyes that reflected back at hers. 

“Tenten, I don’t want it to be me that tells you how Neji truly feels about you. That’s a job only he can do for the benefit of the doubt. But if there is one thing that I can tell you, it’s that Neji has fought for you to be his for several years now, going to meetings with the clan officials in both the main and side branches. He’s spoken to my father a countless number of times about you and has even confessed to me about rebelling and defying all odds. You and I both know how headstrong Neji is and how logically he thinks and processes his surroundings. What I’m trying to say here is that avoiding him isn’t helping you or him. What you are doing is making no sense in the attempt of building something beautiful. Neji has grown up. He is a young man who knows what he wants and that’s you. He would do absolutely anything and everything for you and I know you don’t believe this but everything I have told you is the truth. Neji feels so strongly about keeping you forever with him that he would rather be here to protect you in a physical presence, rather than a spirit who can only watch from above without you knowing.”

“I don’t understand why he would go so far for someone like me,” Tenten said softly. “He always referred to me as a comrade and a teammate and occasionally as a friend. That’s all I ever thought we’d be. He would get married to someone that his clan found pleasant and well-balanced, perhaps even someone from another branch while I would stand off and eventually disappear from his life for good. I don’t have a family like he does and compared to him, I’m just a peasant. To think that he has felt something for me for so long is easier to ponder than it is to believe.”

“I know,” Hinata comforted as she squeezed Tenten’s hands gently. “It’s understandable that you don’t believe in the truth of Neji’s feelings or his intentions. He was raised to withhold whatever kind of emotional passion or love he had inside of him and to keep it there. Before he called Lee to meet with you, he was as nervous as a timid child. I witnessed him a few hours earlier mumbling to himself, shaking his head in uncertainty, and sigh as he rehearsed what he wanted to say to you. I’ve never seen him so worried or unsure of himself and what he was about to do. To think that Neji can show such feelings in a private setting shows that he has found an opening in being with you. His trust in you has only expanded over these years and if he wants to spend the rest of his life with you, then he will find some way to make that happen.”

A light flickered from within as Tenten took in all Hinata spoke of, about Neji and about what he wanted. She was right, the Neji Tenten had claimed to always know was now a changed man with new responsibilities and desires to fulfill that dream of defying destiny. There was never hatred for him, no, the hate that she had claimed to feel was hatred towards almost losing him during a time when there was no time to cry or grieve. A time when love couldn’t exist because it would hurt too much when it was gone and left nothing behind. Those countless moments spent with him were memories she loved to look back on the most, especially when she felt inferior in his presence and in his strength. He sought redemption as she dreamed of becoming stronger, two goals the other was sure would be accomplished with each other’s aid. That was the love that had always been present and it had slipped right past her. This entire time was spent on being the strongest person she could be while he was learning to be weaker so that his emotions could be better understood. He wanted to be shaped like Tenten just as she wanted to learn how she could better herself from him. Watching him, seeing him fight, and smiling at him as he returned the gesture was love. He sparred with her because of love and trust. Never did he see her as the useless person she often saw herself as. He fought with her to see her strength in many aspects, not just physical. A bond had formed as they danced together in training at close range combat. His palm came forward and she dodged with a skid backward, only to come forward with a smile on her face as she had caught him and the content and humble expression he returned as it was his turn to brace himself. That was real love. Holding hands, kissing, and other intimate actions were not needed to express the realness of what love really was. What had been just comradery was now a deep connection of heart and soul. Her mistake had been realized. She had to come back for a counterattack. She couldn’t spend her life just dodging if she wanted to become stronger. He had known that and this entire time, he had shown how much he cared for her without uttering those three words. That kind of love was whole as it existed first on the inside and formed a much deeper connection over time. It was true, and it was real. It was love. 

And because of that love, another question had been answered. It was him who had taken her back to her room that night she fell asleep on the training grounds. Of course, it was him. She had felt him lift her off the ground and carry her atop the buildings, his sweet fragrance filling her dreams with subtle contentment. She had heard a heartbeat, one that was strangely relaxed despite the movements and looking back now, she had known that heartbeat was his. Neji wasn’t just a comrade. He was something more. His willingness to keep her safe was not excessive as he expressed full trust in her abilities. And that was why she admired him the most.  
Hinata was surprised to see a streak of red fall across Tenten’s cheeks and nose but was even more amazed to see a smile form on her lips. 

“That nerd…” she mumbled with amusement.

Her happiness was relevant and for once, it may have been the realest it has been in a long time. The way she looked was different from before and Hinata couldn’t help but soften her gaze as a small smile took over her lips as well. In her years of knowing Tenten, the way she looked now was an expression Hinata had never seen before. The look of love and commitment.

“Tenten,” Hinata chided as Tenten looked into her eyes. “I have to know. Do you love Neji?”

A single tear trailed down Tenten’s cheek as she smiled bigger.

“Yes, I do.”


	6. Chapter 6

It was well into the next morning when her pencil had been laid atop the wooden surface of the small table centered in the middle of her room, surrounded by crumpled bits of paper that had failed to make it into the already overflowing trash bin. Time had gone by exceedingly quick since she first began in the evening of the previous day, around the evening in which common laborers were heading home and children were called in to eat dinner. It was the time in which the world was becoming silent and at ease in preparation for the next day, leaving issues to be discussed later in the presence of sleep. It was when she wasn’t being watched or judged by anyone, not even herself. And though she was alone, it was the kind of solitude that she had craved for months now, because unlike the majority of her isolation, this moment was spent with pleasure.

She had gone through at least a package and a half of plain white paper by the time she decided that there was no point in proceeding further. The bin was already overflowing with the discarded ideas that had gotten her nowhere near satisfaction and the lack of a solution made her become fatigued with frustration.

To her, it felt like she was doing the extra mile that wasn’t really necessary. Regardless of how she decided to plot out her moves and bullet her words, the conclusion would depend on the reality of the meeting itself. There was an endless number of possibilities and the more paper she crumpled and the more words she scribbled out, there was only one possibility she wanted to achieve. And that was the best one.

Even so, being in such a state had made her question what her reasoning was in doing this extra planning. It took five minutes to come up with a simple greeting and it took hours to plot out her words and make sense of it all. This was just something she couldn’t mess up for the sake of replenishing what was once lost in a blossoming relationship of mutual trust and devotion.

After taking up the paper she had just recently finished, she cleared her throat and began to read aloud.

“’Neji, I wanted to say that I’m sorry for everything I’ve ever done to you these past couple of years. It was wrong of me to create a distance between us just as it was selfish of me to believe it was for the best. When I told you that I was having nightmares of you dying, I didn’t feel like you believed me. I thought leaving you in the past was the best way to cope with those nightmares and in the end, it didn’t help either one of us.’”

She paused, mumbling the words again under her breath for a second time.

When she had finished, she shook her head in defeat.

“That’s a shitty excuse for an apology,” she sighed as she crumpled up yet another piece of wasted paper. “I feel like I haven’t made any progress this entire time and it’s starting to annoy the hell out of me.”

She stood, her arms outstretched towards the ceiling as she stood on her toes to ease the tension in her calves. One could only guess how long she had sat in the same position for hours and standing up for the first time was a blissful way to strip away some of the pain in being confined to frustration. 

A groan escaped from her mouth and she eased back into a regular standing position, looking around at the mess of scattered papers spread around the table. The waste bin held a mountain of white mass, discarded papers toppling over each other in the fight to maintain their positions of safety in the garbage. 

She had been in such a trance of thinking that she didn’t realize how much time had passed until she looked at the clock sitting atop her nightstand. 

3:38 a.m.

Weariness took over her after seeing the time, a large yawn managing to escape her lips. She had spent hours planning her motive and directing her moves and yet she didn’t have a single plot she was willing to perform with. After all this time, she achieved no satisfaction in finding a way to make her meeting with Neji as passionate and as subtle as she intended to be. This was turning out to be more of a challenge than she had initially thought it would be. 

Tenten let out another sigh as she kicked some paper to the side. 

“Guess I’d better clean up.”

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By the time she had finished picking up and stowing away the crumpled bits of paper in a large garbage bag she had retrieved from her kitchen cabinet, it was nearing four a.m. 

Twisting the two red strands together at the top, she sat the engorged bag off to the side of her dresser, knowing that it was far too late to go out and dispose of it. That, and she would look suspicious tossing a full garbage sack during the crack of dawn when most people were still asleep. 

As she peeled off the clothes she wore from the day before, her mind had transferred into a different space of indifference. There were so many factors she had yet to consider, such as when her plan would be into action and what the circumstances would be. She had spent all of that time just plotting her words that she didn’t pay much attention to the more pressing matter, which was when she was going to go find Neji and exploit her every being to him in a matter of minutes or even hours if all went as desired.

Perhaps it wouldn’t be as awful as she was expecting it to be. After all, he had mustered enough courage to be able to tell her face to face that he wanted to marry her and it was probably extremely difficult for him to act on. Then again, Neji knew how to keep his emotions well-contained unlike herself. It wouldn’t surprise her if she just started crying before she even spoke to him.

The articles of clothing fell onto the floor in a rhythmic schedule, one after the other, until Tenten stood in the middle of her room only wearing her undergarments as she approached her dresser to dig in the top drawer to grab her nightwear.

It felt odd, to be this excited for such a serious moment. Maybe it felt that way because it was a conversation she thought she would never have with Neji for the rest of her life. It was nerve-racking and just thinking about how it would play out made her itch with anxiety. What if he had changed his mind about her and has found someone else? What if the clan didn’t see her fit to become his wife?

Her heart ached when she thought of the latter. There were so many things she just wasn’t, and she didn’t see herself as the kind of material a man desired in a wife. She didn’t grow up with a family or a clan to call her own, no siblings or parents. She lived in an apartment shared with other residents of the village, never having her own house or private quarters to dwell in. She was alone and didn’t have a special status. Not everyone knew of her existence and acknowledged her with respect like they did when Neji was around. They saw him not as royalty, but as a superior being even when they were children. To Tenten, she was nothing compared to him.

She dressed herself in her nightwear of a plain oversized shirt and, stooping to pick up her day clothes from off the floor, she gingerly took the pile in her arms and proceeded to the laundry basket near the door of her room, dropping them in before she flipped the light switch off, darkness consuming the room at least. 

Reaching her hands into her hair, she tugged on the braided buns, pulling the strands apart and yanking out pins and hair ties until clumps of curled locks trailed down her upper back and shoulders. Her legs led her to the side of her bed where she sat on the edge holding the accessories tenderly in her palm. She opened her hand up and stared at the contents, smiling sadly to herself as she remembered how simple things had been back then when everything had been assigned and dictated by an adult. And now, she was one who had to make her own choices in life and decide on a path that would take over her future. It was her turn to be in charge of what she did and if that meant marrying Neji then…

Then what? 

She leaned over, opening the drawer of her nightstand to let the pins and ties fall before she shut them away once again. 

A shallow sigh exited from her lips as she tucked her legs onto the bed, pulling the sheets and the cover from the tucked in crevices beneath her mattress, slipping the lower half of her body inside and allowing her head to rest against the smoothness of the pillow. 

As much as she wanted to, trying to convince herself that it would all work out was a nearly impossible task, much less a simple chore. There were too many possible endings to this story, pleasant or bitter, and the feeling of avoidance and fear had been replaced with the sensations of a beating heart and the sudden yearning for his company.

It was Hinata to really thank in this matter. She managed to get past Tenten’s resilience in accepting the truth and the reality encased in the moment. If Hinata had never come and spoke to Tenten in such a way, there would be no escape from her pride in denying Neji of his own choices and the decisions he is making for the reflection of his future.

Her eyes closed, wrapping her in yet another scene of blank darkness as she stared into the void. 

 

It felt strange to see this change in herself, one that wasn’t present to her unless she saw one of her friends falling in love. She never truly understood this form of compassion or devotion to something, or in this case, to another person. It was the kind of love she always saw and observed, but never knew would exist for herself. Was she afraid of Neji or was she afraid of feeling this way towards someone that she never would’ve guessed would want her to marry him?

Maybe, just maybe, the nightmares were all an excuse to dig deeper into the fear of loving another person. Having crushes, feeling the butterflies fluttering from within, were all sensations she didn’t believe she had time to indulge in. There were so many things that she wanted to get from her life, such as gaining strength and having a reputation among the village as a ninja tool and weapon professional. Those goals were just for her and for her own sense of being in her own consciousness that protected her from having to share something of great importance with other people. She pushed herself away from those she cared about and from the person she denied loving for so long. Unsettling, yes, but rather, bittersweet for the happiness she experienced for those who found love and for those who gained a new person to share that love within their life. 

This time was different. This time Neji cared for Tenten just as she cared for him, maybe even more. It was finally her turn to be in love and to experience all of the cliché feelings that came with it.

There was no time to waste on “what ifs”. The longer she swayed the task, the more she began to consider the possibility of a failure that would really break her for good this time. She had no more second chances nor could she freeze time and go back to the past to correct her mistakes. 

Unfortunately, the clock doesn’t stop for no one. The ticking may become absent after several years and yet, somewhere, there will be another clock that ticks away with the time that passes fruitfully. Whatever happened was meant to happen and while it bothered her that she was thinking about fate like Neji often did, she knew there was no exaggeration in the future. If coming clean meant humiliating herself in front of her potential husband, then so be it. The reality was a sunburn that never healed, always burning the skin and penetrating the nerves, sending striking pain throughout the rest of the body, making the voice quiver out a groan at the discomfort. It was trying to get a weight that couldn’t be lifted off alone, pressing against the chest as more weight continued to be added on. To be truthful, she knew that she was going against herself and what she wanted. And it was starting to become clearer that the weight that pressed so heavily against her, preventing her from throwing it off her body, was not stress nor was it the sense of dread. It was the heart that beat and pounded against her walls within her chest, moving quickly at the thought of falling in love. 

And it was about to burst.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Her fatigue had failed to draw slumber during the few hours she received lying awake in bed, staring at the side of the dresser as the shine from the upcoming daybreak was approaching. How open the world had seemed after such a long stretch of darkness and the appearance of soot-filled clouds. It was a pleasant scene to wake up to despite her absence of such a break from her slumber that she was so unfortunate to take the liberty of enjoying. 

Thought after thought, scenario after scenario, was what filled her mind, not the dreams she would view and then no longer remember. The expressions he would make as a reaction, the possibility of him turning her away, and the surprise in his eyes consumed the rest of the worries she had set aside for this very commitment. And, because of such a philosophical experience, the time she had decided to do it in her own certainty was that very day in a few hours. Yes, in only a short time she would be standing (or sitting) in front of him, staring into his eyes as she changed her tone when she expressed with her every being what she wanted to do and the feelings she was feeling, the emotions that had probed into her life within the dullness of the slow seconds that passed with each blink she took as she had him on her mind. 

The more she thought like that, the more she felt like a different person. 

She could finally talk about their future as one without being interrupted from other conflicts. No, this time, it was about them and the next rock she was willing to skip across their river, allowing it to land on the bank of the cobblestones where he stood on the other side, waiting for her to join him. 

In ignoring her pending anxiety, Tenten rose from her position atop her bed and took the sheets off, nearly dashing out to get ready and find out where Neji was. The excitement that fueled her heart to beat rapidly was becoming a challenge to suppress back to its serene state. For once this form of feminine giddiness was directed towards something that wasn’t a new weapon she had never had the pleasure of utilizing before.

She spent no time in grabbing her clothes from the top drawer of the dresser as she proceeded to take off her t-shirt in the process to save herself more time. Throwing her nightwear to the side on the ground, she slipped soundly into her outfit, pulling up the fishnet leggings and smoothing out the flattering freelancing dress as she adjusted the corset-like waist belt that held her two most favorable scrolls against her lower back. 

She scrambled to the bathroom, turning on the switch to see her reflection in the mirror before grabbing her brush that rested against the white countertops, sticking the bristles against her scalp as she tugged through the fixated and rather tangled strands. 

Timidly, as the brush continued to tear through the knots and crooks, she removed herself from the bathroom, stalking back to her bedside to lay the brush down and to pull the drawer back to grab the hair ties and pins she had left resting at the bottom of the wood. And, with the tenderest of twirling and braiding, two buns were conjoined on the top of her head as a braid connected them like a rope, wrapping around them and coming together behind her head to finish off her unique and rather elegant hairstyle. 

She went back into the bathroom, looking at herself for the final time and giving a smile, a real smile that was had always been invisible by the beaten mask she had finally thrown aside. There was no need to hide, not anymore because when she would stand before him, she would be the Tenten he had known since the first time they met.

Turning off the light, she went towards her door, slipping into her sandals, turning back to face her room. There was no returning the same way as before, no coming back the same person as she once was in her depressive and frightened state. She had grown in a matter of days just by coming to terms with her innermost wants and by throwing out her doubts. And, if anything, she would return stronger than she was when she left.

The dread would stay behind and leave with time and when she stepped out and the door shut behind her, it didn’t call her back or pull her inside. Like a fire burning atop a candle, she had blown it out and nothing remained but the smoke that burned into the air and eventually disappeared the further she found herself walking away from what wanted to hold her back. That image of herself had died and would no longer be awakened as she made her way outside and felt the air chill her cheeks and freeze the truth behind her smile.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Her memory was what guided her to his home as she treaded along the stone pathway leading down into the family courtyard, the shoots of outstretched blades of grass brushing against her calves as she neared by. The sky was the clearest it had been over the course of those rainy mornings and thundering nights, a paling and rather light-hearted blue as the angelic sun was suspended high atop the earthly dome. Tenten could only pray in silence that perhaps it was a sign of the goodness yet to come with each step she pressed against the stones narrowing down the hill of small buds and drying lilacs. 

She thought herself rather strange to be approaching the courtyard with such confidence. Her absence was, in some way, a great suspicion to the family due to the lack of her presence in the mornings and late afternoons to ask Neji to accompany her during the training sessions held within the forest. The only conclusion she could make was that her entrance would be quite the surprise to the head of the main branch, Neji’s uncle and Hinata’s father, who had been acquainted with Tenten several times in the past when sparring was the favorited activity between his nephew and his teammate. Making a bad impression was the last thing Tenten had ever wanted to do and she wasn’t planning on making one anytime soon, especially with the man who gave his time to listen to his nephew’s reasons for his decision on picking his wife. She couldn’t begin to fathom the look on his face when Neji had told him, knowing good and well that the entire family, especially his uncle, were able to hold a stern and rather difficult to decipher expression in regards to their emotions and thoughts, unlike Tenten, an open book with no limits on how she controlled what she felt.

Within a few more strides down the path, she came to the door that entered into the courtyard of the clan’s dwelling, a large home with several rooms to house each member respectfully. The exterior hadn’t changed from where she had seen it as she had walked towards the building, remaining its proper theme of a common Japanese home one may find in the countryside or in private areas if there was to be a proper investigation. 

She gingerly pressed her palm against the surface of the door, feeling the soft touch of a smooth finish that covered the wooden surface, and, with a breath, she pushed one side of the large opening forward.

Using both hands, she let the door thud lightly as it closed up once again, leaving her at the exit of the deserted courtyard. Not even Hinata’s younger sister was out training.

Gazing around with a mute tongue, she strolled gently across the yard, looking around for someone to tell her where Neji was. Perhaps he would be the one to greet her first. 

That was the hope that didn’t happen.

Tenten nearly jumped in surprise as she heard a gruff voice call out to her from behind.

“Who are you?” it demanded.

She turned and immediately saw that Neji’s uncle faced her, his palms pointing at her in a stance of attack, the Byakugon in his eyes activated within his piercing glare. 

“Mr. Hiashi!” she yelped as she held her hands up in defense. “It’s me, Tenten!”

The realization hit him almost immediately as he lowered his hands and deactivated his enhancement of sight as he closed his eyes and sighed. 

“Forgive me, Tenten,” he addressed her calmly. “You’ve changed since the last time I saw you.”

She bowed disoriented, still in a state of shock of almost being sent flying into her own casket.

“No, please, it’s alright. Besides, I should be the one apologizing. I haven’t been here in such a long time and I look different, so I can’t blame you. Forgive me for entering unannounced.”

Hiashi returned the bow, much more solemnly than she had.

“What brings you here, Miss Tenten?” he asked in his usually serious demeanor, his eyes never breaking away from hers from his own institutionalized respect.

“Well,” she began, placing her hands behind her back so that he couldn’t see how tightly she was squeezing her fingers into her palms with her growing nerves. “I’m actually looking for Neji. Is he around today?”

“Oh, Neji-,” Hiashi speculated as he narrowed his brow. 

She began to feel her heart wilt like a flower growing alone within the desert, broken apart by the harshness of the tyranny of its birth having been placed in an environment that was set to diminish its being.

“Neji was assigned to a last-minute mission just this morning. He left early a few hours ago.”

Her stomach dropped, and she felt herself grow dizzy. She became hesitant, absorbed in her own world of absurdity in which her mind became foggy. This wasn’t something she had considered in her endless number of scenarios that had played in her head for hours the night before. This was wrong, it had to be. That was what she wanted to think, but Hiashi was a man of honesty and integrity, one who never speaks lies to others. 

She clenched her fists tightly behind her back, digging her fingernails into her flesh. She bit back the tears as she held in her disappointed frustration. 

“However,” Hiashi continued as he began to notice the sudden change in Tenten’s skin color, turning a ghostly white. “He informed me that he wanted to train a little before he went on his way. He may be at the gate with his team members right now.”

Her heart skipped a subtle beat as she felt sudden hope build up in her chest, the haze clearing away from her guarding thoughts and expressions. If it was that important of a mission, there was no time to waste. This could be her final chance for several days or even weeks upon Neji’s return to the village. 

Tenten bowed and quickly thanked the head of the clan before running back to the gate, bolting out through the giant door and leaving Hiashi alone in the courtyard.

“Tenten-!” he had called after her.

The door had shut behind her and his voice trailed to nowhere, disappearing just as quickly as she had. 

A rare smile spread across his lips as he closed his eyes.

Neji, you picked a rather flamboyant one, didn’t you?  
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Her lungs palpated against her ribcage as her heart felt as though it would burst through her breast bone if she didn’t stop to rest. The legs that continued to sprint at full-speed had no endured this type of training in several weeks, aching as she refused to give up her forceful pace. While the wind had kept her cool, the sweat on her brow continued to fall and she had to use the back of her palm to wipe the skin off constantly. 

She had pounded up the graveled hill that led down to the Hyuga clan house, jumping up each step with gracefulness like she would if she were climbing stairs. At once, her breath had been unstable from near excitement and she had to leave if she wanted that endurance to last her. The adrenaline had already kicked in from the moment she had fled abruptly, flying towards the village gate in the hopes of not missing him once again. That hope was one that she continued to hold on tightly in her heart, the hope of seeing his face when she told him the truth, the reality that had destroyed her in the past and had built her up at that moment when she would tell him. 

The gates that remained open during the daylight felt much farther away than they usually do, the desperation making her short distance seem like a life journey. She felt the eyes of people staring at her, watching in silence as she ran by, frantically trying to stop the clock at least a minute before she knew it was too late. 

She dodged small gatherings of people, almost last minute, trying to not bump into anyone that would slow her progress. Her breathing was shortened, and her pace was diminishing at a radical pace. There was no time to stop and take a breath, just as there was no time to look back and give in to what was meant to happen: having to go home with the words still throbbing in her throat. While those emotions of how she felt were kept inside, the more she saw his face, heard his voice, watched the way his body moved in response to his training or attacks against an opponent, or even just when someone mentioned his name… it made those feelings bubble up more and more, to the point of almost bursting out with sheer will. That was before the war and during the war as she saw him get impaled while protecting Hinata and Naruto those heart-throbbing feelings were murdered, and she felt the love become silent once again. 

That was when the nightmares started. That was when she started to avoid him. Loving someone for so long and without them knowing it was a torture unfathomable to anybody that has felt that way before. All that goes through someone’s mind are scenarios and daydreams about kissing, sleeping together, or making passionate love with the person they admire the most without them knowing it was happening. The real heartbreak is not when rejection happens. It is when those thoughts and dreams are put away by a sudden stillness in the world that had to stop because of the circumstances. It was not always rejection as it comes in many forms, but rather, it is the sudden realization that it wasn’t mutual. Someone loved another more than the latter did and that’s when all those daydreams and scenarios become memories that infuse morality with a churning of doubt, the degrading thought of not being loved or finding love the same way again. It was having to keep going through it that humans begin to see the mistake in how they saw another. In the end, someone always gets hurt and someone always walks away with what they want. 

Whatever reality that would exist for her and Neji would not be that one. Her muscles contracted and released with each breath she inhaled and sighed out. They wouldn’t walk away without each other, she wouldn’t be left behind, and he wouldn’t change his mind about her. And, unless she decided to stop now, fate would continue to control her with what she also assumed about how her future was meant to be, the future she would be forced to live in and suffer throughout the course of her life. 

No, it wasn’t too late. There was time.

 

There’s time. 

Her feet halted at the gate and as she caught her breath while placing her palms against her knee caps to bend over and let the beads of sweat roll off her forehead and drip onto the dirt. 

The guard that stood watch during the day saw her and stared at her dumbfoundedly. 

“Hey, Miss, are you alright?” he spoke as he withdrew himself from his post in the viewing platform.

“N-Ne-,” she stuttered through her panting.

The guard wearily approached her, gazing at her worriedly. As he was about to touch her shoulder, Tenten arose and nearly startled him. 

“Neji Hyuga!” she finally answered. “Is… Neji Hyuga here or w-will he be here?”

The guard was attempting to maintain his composure as he looked around, avoiding Tenten’s sudden gaze that was engulfed with moisture and flames as she seeked the answer she needed.

He cleared his throat before adjusting his uniform collar. 

“Neji Hyuga left a half hour ago with Rock Lee and Shikamaru Nara. I’m sorry, but I don’t know when they will be-,”

He watched as Tenten fell to the ground, laying against her side upon the earth, her eyes closed with tears leaking through the corners of her eyelashes. The dread she wanted to leave behind, the thoughts she had been sure were gone, came at her in full force and brought her down with them once again, pushing her deep into what held her back for so long. 

She heard the guard yell something and the shuffling of sandals gathering around her, but the dread echoed and rattled her skull as she was engulfed in darkness.

I was too late.


	7. Chapter 7

_It had been cloudy that day, the gloomiest the weather has ever been in months. Not one drop had fallen from the heavens and landed to provide moisture to the earth’s tender surface. Instead, all that was received was a despicable glare from the shameful sky as more clouds, dark and heavy, began to roll in, joining with the others to enhance the thick cloud of smoke looming over the village. There was no thunder, no lightning, and no warning either, making the atmosphere become hesitantly unaware of being unable to carry out light-hearted deeds that were craved by many, if not, everyone. With the exception of a few soft breezes, the wind did not howl against the boards of buildings and it didn’t seem to even sway the smallest of creatures who continued to live their life with purpose and instinct, rather than in suffering as the beasts that walked upright did. It was, to say rather gently, a day destined for destruction as it was shared with the funeral being held early in the morning on the same date._

_The black dressing made her skin crawl as she walked stiffly behind the line of her friends, people she had never known to look so defeated, and yet, there they were, sober in deafening grief. Her legs felt heavy, almost as if they were tied to sandbags, forcing her to exert more pressure with each step she took as they dragged through the dirt behind her, the rope digging into her ankles and calves. She didn’t feel pain at that moment, just instigating through distraction as she stared at the ground. She couldn’t explain what she felt nor why she felt numb instead of melancholy for the event being held in honor of-._

_She became distracted and unaware of her stepping on the heels of the person in front of her, who turned around sharply to cast her a sinister glare of annoyance. It was a young woman she had never met before or remembered seeing in the past just in town. She looked grim with dark bags underneath her eyes, the strands of tar-like black falling sleek against her lower back. Her skin was pale, white as the snow that fell each winter while her eyes were hollow and dark as they poured into Tenten, giving her a shiver in replace of dullness._

_Tenten opened her mouth to apologize, but the young woman beat her to it._

_“Why the hell are you here?” she demanded in a threatening tone._

_People started to walk around the stopped pair to avoid causing traffic to reach the funeral. No one said a word as they passed by, some glancing for a short second before looking away in desperation caused by the uncomfortable situation they all were trying to avoid._

_Tenten tried to speak and was once again cut off._

_“You shouldn’t be here. You aren’t wanted by anyone.”_

_“I-I’m sorry for bumping into you, I wasn’t paying attention-,”_

_The young woman scoffed._

_“I don’t give a damn about that. What I am bothered by is the fact that you had the courage to show your disgusting face here when you never cared. It was your fault, after all.”_

_Tenten felt the bile rise in her throat._

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Look, can we just move forward? We are blocking the way-,”_

_“You mean YOU’RE blocking the way.”_

_Frustration began to build up inside of Tenten, her chest burning with rage and the impending desire to slap the young woman in the face to end this little petty ordeal. Perhaps she had mistaken Tenten for someone else and maybe this was just one big misunderstanding they could both agree to walk away from and forget about._

_“I think you have the wrong person,” she began to respond, her voice quivering slightly underneath her breath._

_“You are Tenten, aren’t you? The girl who drove Neji to his death because of your selfishness towards protecting your own ass?” the young woman exclaimed menacingly._

_Tenten felt her eyes widen as blood rushed out of her face, draining like water in a sink. Her world was becoming dizzy and she stared in silence, utterly unsure of what to say in response to the young woman’s accusations._

_The woman continued._

_“Are you an idiot? Take a look around you. This is Neji’s funeral. He committed suicide while on a mission and it is entirely your fault. If only you hadn’t rejected him in the first place, then maybe he would still be alive, and you would still be respected by all of these people that are joining the ceremony in mourning.”_

_Tenten became very cold as her hands started to shake, the numbing feeling becoming fright, denial, anxiety, and confusion. None of this made the slightest bit of sense to her and yet the words coming from the young woman’s mouth were paralyzing her internally. Her thoughts ceased to rush through her skull, allowing her to feel the increasing rhythm of her heartbeat pounding impatiently against her ribcage, feeling as though the bones were being shattered bit by bit with each thump. Tears began to cloud her vision and fall from her eyes, streaking down her cheeks as she became unsure of what should be believed. More than anything, she began to hope that this was some kind of joke, but most people see death as a taboo, making it less of a subject for joking than depression._

_“No,” Tenten denied firmly. “Neji would never do something like that! He isn’t stupid and he wouldn’t let those feelings consume him! I don’t know what the hell you are talking about and accusing me of, but it’s all bullshit!”_

_She began to walk past the young woman, the accusations being shouted at her from behind as they allowed passersby to hear intently. Her fears drowned out the shouts of the young woman, the noise around her becoming muted as she proceeded to keep going, becoming more frightened by the reality she was going to be faced with._

_She passed by strangers as she started to quicken her pace, going from jogging to running full speed, apologizing every second to people she had to push through to get by. Tears had continued to fall down her face, dripping beneath her like the rain that was hesitating to fall onto the earth. It began to grow inside of her, the pit in her stomach swallowing her up. Her legs became heavier than lead and after wanting to stop and rest, she was made to cease her running by the crowding of people around a casket, eyes down casted as they muttered things to each other._

_She didn’t bother to excuse herself as she moved people aside to see the casket better. She knew that it was opened, perhaps for a short viewing before the actual funeral began. Flowers were flowing all around the outer ridges of the coffin, a bunch wavering inside as they kept the body covered from the sins instigated by the living._

_With all of her courage, she stepped forward and saw Neji laying inside._

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

                  Her eyes shot open and stared at the white ceiling of the village hospital, frantically searching for a new grasp on the reality she had awoken to. Sweat traveled all over her body like it often did whenever she had experienced a nightmare, but this time was different. This time she was cold.

                  Sitting up with the help of her elbows propping up behind her, she looked around the empty room, hoping to see no one. She needed time to reflect on what happened from before and during that horrid dream.

 

                  She looked down towards her chest, noticing a sheer hospital gown as the replacement to the clothes she had worn previously in the day. The cooling fabric made the sweat evaporate off of her body while still retaining the coldness she had felt upon awakening, insulating her skin and allowing her to become more comfortable as the thoughts continued to flood and cascade into her mind.

 

                  Her head fell back down against the pillow as her eyes stared back at the ceiling, the evening sun beginning to set as it left an orange and rather golden tint, filling the room with a new kind of warmth as the day was close to ending.

 

                  She should’ve felt at peace as she often did as night befell upon the village. Instead, the comfort was replaced by a hollowing feeling in her chest.

 

                  “Neji!”

 

                  Her body shot back up as she began to look around frantically, throwing the sheets off of her to step onto the freezing tile. She ran to the door of her room, opening it wide before sprinting down the corridor of her floor, looking straight ahead as she tried to ignore that dizziness that was fogging up her vision.

 

                  She blasted by nurses and other patients, her gown feeling the breeze and pressing it against her skin. Her heart was racing quicker than normal, and her breath became fragile with fatigue.

 

                  Though she still wasn’t sure as to why she was there in the first place, finding the answer to that question was the last thing on her mind at the moment. She had to go see Neji before he left on his mission.

 

                  _Left… his mission…_

                  She stopped as she neared the stairs, holding on to the railing while her breath faltered.

 

                  _Now I remember,_ she thought solemnly. _I went to the gate to meet Neji after Mr. Hiashi told me that there was a chance he would be there, but I was too late._

Her knees gave out from under her as she fell to the floor, crumpled by her failure to see him in time. She had wasted another opportunity from her own lack of knowing when the right time was. She had started to regret giving him such a response the first time he approached her about this topic and the dream she had was making matters worse.

 

                  As she sat on the floor, she punched the wall beside her, hot tears filling up her eyes and refusing to fall to expose her weakness. Tenten blamed herself for being too late.

 

                  The guard wasn’t sure of his return nor was anyone else as far as she understood, and while it did frighten her to have the least amount of knowledge on the mission compared to everyone in the loop, she couldn’t help but feel the need to think she knew how the outcome would work, her paranoia becoming significantly infatuated in her suffering.

 

                  The clipping of sandals against the smooth tile were running towards where she sat, her body rigid at the approaching footsteps.

 

                  Someone was speaking to her, a nurse perhaps, and while she could hear the coo in the voice, she could not make out the blurring words they were speaking as they attempted to calm her. A hand reached around and took her by the arm, taking her up so that she was standing once again, pulling her back towards the hallway from where she came, the person still talking in a pathetically ignorant manner towards her as if she was a child about to get a shot. Getting spoken to in such a way only fueled her irritation more, her cheeks burning with humiliation as she passed by patients who gave her sideways glance and nurses that whispered the gossip of the madwoman that now strolled by, handled by another staff member out of being forced to be the one to approach her first.

 

                  They were all fools, every last one of them as they led her away, back into the confinements of the room she had awoken in, the same environment she had felt so confused and lost in, staring at the blank ceiling in the hopes of finding the answer hidden among the dull covering of concrete that faced her. Nobody could help her, not now. She had to be selfish to find her answers and trusting someone in such a place was just pointless in doing just that.

 

                  By the time they had entered back into her room, Tenten was already far from the sense of her surroundings, ignoring the directions given by the nurse as she settled Tenten back into the bed, departing with the door closing behind her after several more coos of comfort when she walked out, leaving Tenten alone to the silence and her thoughts.

 

                  _Why am I here?_ She thought as she become more distressed. _I can’t seem to remember anything that happened before that awful dream… wait a second, I got ready, I went to the Hyuga compound to see if Neji was there, and I bumped into Mr. Hiashi. He told me that Neji was on some kind of mission and that it hadn’t left yet, that he would be by the gate at that time. I went to the gate and I asked for Neji and then…?_

The memories stopped flowing.

 

                  She remembered her consciousness beforehand, how desperate she had felt to reach him in time, how badly she wanted to get her heart out before he left for who knows how long.

 

                  Shifting atop the mattress, a sigh traveled out from her dry lips as she put the sheets over her legs, feeling the cotton ease and insulate her skin with each breath she took in. Fatigue had once again found her and without giving another consideration to her motive, she laid back, taking smooth and longing breaths as she once again found her eyes glued to that of the boring slate that was the ceiling above her wondering eyes, searching for more answers than she could ever want and receiving none in return.

 

                  Settling her eyes, she relaxed, hoping that a deep slumber would once again take her away from this place, away from her conflict, and more importantly, her fears the nightmare had created within her mind.

 

                  Just as she was slipping into a state of unconsciousness, there was a tender knock at her door. With her eyes opening, her head turned to look, muttering no response in return as the knob turned on its own accord.

 

Standing present in the doorway was the leader of the village, a man truly worthy of such a title, though he was reluctant to accept it when the time came for him to take over.

 

He hadn’t changed much since the war other than gained a few more years. His hair had always been a silver tint and his face was hidden by the darkened mask, only showing the depth of his dark eyes with a scar severing the skin from the top to the bottom of his left eye. The only characteristic that swayed him away from his typical design was the Hokage cloak he wore around him.

 

He stepped inside, smiling within the mask when he saw that she was fully alert upon his arrival.

 

“Oh, I see you’re awake now,” he greeted, strolling towards her bedside, pulling a chair from the side wall as he twirled it in front of him, the backside facing Tenten as he leaned forward in a rather un-leader like position.

 

She sat up.

 

“Lord Kakashi,” she mumbled, only to stop with the raise of his hand.

 

“Please, you can drop the ‘Lord’ title. Just call me ‘sensei’ instead. It makes me feel like I am still the person I was before I took on this role.”

 

She nodded in agreement before continuing.

 

“What are you doing here?”

 

“Word travels fast in the village.”

 

“So, you know what happened then?”

 

Kakashi nodded, resting his chin on his overlapping arms that leaned against the top of the railing of the chair. Tenten couldn’t help but groan at his response.

 

“A lot of people know, but they don’t know the entirety of the story,” he started as he began to reassure her. “Including myself. The moment Gai found out, he wanted to rush over as quick as possible, however, we both know that he would just end up hurting himself even more, so, I offered to come by instead to check on you.”

 

“That sounds like something Gai Sensei would do,” she simplified softly. “He was also so impulsive when it came to making sure we were all okay. You can tell him that I am doing alright.”

 

“Alright, I’d be more than glad to deliver that message to him.”

 

He stood again, going back to the door. Tenten was dumbfounded at his sudden exit and was rather glad that there were no more questions, that is until he stopped to close the door firmly and approach her once again, this time, no longer sitting casually.

 

The confusion was easy to read on her face and without wanting to startle her more, he made the serious intention reveal in his eyes to her, making her understand that the next few moments would be the granting and giving of answers to an abundance of questions.

 

“Tenten,” he started firmily. “I would feel better if I knew the entirety of the story, from beginning to end. Whatever it was that happened, it made you pass out from exhaustion and stress. I just want to be ensured that there was nothing sketchy going on that threatened the village. It sounds uptight, but as the Hokage, it is my duty to make sure there is no secrecy that would hurt the lives of others.”

 

She shook her head immediately.

 

“No, nothing like that. It’s just personal stuff I am dealing with right now with another person-,”

 

“Neji?”

 

She paused, nodding her head with hesitation as the truth was threatening to spill out once again.

 

“How did you-?”

 

“Gai has told me about the sudden strain in your relationship with him since the war ended. That, and according to the guard that brought you here, he was the person you asked for.”

 

Tenten said nothing.

 

“Why were you so urgent to get to him before he left on his mission?” Kakashi continued after a few moments of silence passed.

 

Tenten began to stir from underneath her sheets, fiddling with the hem pulled up to her hips as she tightened and loosened her grip, like a cat kneading the dense fabric of a cushion.

 

“I made a mistake before he left,” she mumbled softly, looking down towards her lap. “This is going to sound so stupid, especially coming from someone like me, but… I didn’t realize how much pain I had caused him when I isolated myself from seeing him. I want to make amends with him as soon as possible.”

 

“Is it because you love him?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Kakashi withheld his stern posture, composing himself to once again sit down on the chair in the same casual fashion as he did before. His eyes returned to a gentle hue before he started to speak to her once more.

 

“I figured that’s what it was. Love can make the most rational people becoming dangerously irrational when it comes down to it. I suppose that was why your body finally collapsed after being in a state of stress for such a long period.”

 

Tenten closed her eyes and nodded slightly in agreement, opening them once again and giving him a direct glance.

 

“Kakashi Sensei, what can you tell me about the mission Neji went on with Lee and Shikamaru?”

 

Hesitancy took over his neutral expression as he began to look away towards the window where the setting sun flew in the phoenix of fluorescent colors signaling the day’s finale. The sky was just beginning to introduce the children of the stars when he began to reason with himself in telling her the information.

 

When he didn’t respond for some time, Tenten began to grow anxious.

 

“Please,” she insisted softly.

 

Looking around the room once more he turned back to her, the serious aura plastered over him yet again.

 

“Alright, seeing that you’ll find out one way or another, I will tell you as much as I can. Do not under any circumstances inform anyone of this classified information. You never know who is listening.”

 

She agreed and swore to keep this information under wraps.

 

                  His voice became quieter when he first started to speak, keeping his ears open for anyone that could be eavesdropping nearby.

 

                  “I chose the three of them to carry out this S-rank mission involving an assassination on a powerful gang leader that has been threatening and harassing young women around your age to commit to their desires of money earned through prostitution.”

 

                  “Good God,” Tenten exclaimed softly, nerved by the very thought of people doing something as disgusting as that.

 

                  “I know, it’s horrible,” Kakashi agreed sadly. “That is why the leader needs to be assassinated. Once he is gone, the rest will have no idea what to do and will be taken to the village prison for further questioning and Intel. I already assigned male shinobi to follow suit behind Neji’s group in case something were to go wrong and for arresting the members if all goes as planned.”

 

                  He leaned back, resting is jaw once again against the top railing of the back of the chair, closing his eyes as if leaking out such crucial information exhausted his every being.

 

                  Tenten took in the information as rapidly as she could, knowing well that Neji would be successful in such a mission. But that trust slowly became a diminishing and blurred out sense of reasoning as the nightmare came back and took over her logic, blinding her with what was true and what was a fantasy. Regardless of what would become of her or him, there had to be a way for her to get to him as soon as possible.

 

                  “Sensei,” she said, interrupting his relaxation. “Please, give me permission to go on this mission as well.”

 

                  “Tenten, I understand how you feel about seeing him as soon as possible,” he responded, opening his eyes only to narrow them authoritatively at her. “However, I can’t just give you permission to go on this mission. There is a reason I gave young men this assignment. I’m sorry, but I won’t put you in danger.”

 

                  “Is it because I am a young woman that you won’t allow me to go?”

 

                  “No, there are other reasons why. One reason is that they already left earlier in the day. I can’t give you an estimate of how far they have already traveled. For all we know, they could already be on the outskirts of the Hidden Rain Village.”

 

                  She lowered her gaze once again, providing him with nothing except for the silence that penetrated the air as she waited for him to continue.

 

                  Instead, he arose from his seat, placing the chair back where it rested against the wall.

 

                  “Well, I think I’ve told you all that I could. You should get some rest now.”

 

                  She watched as he turned him back and went towards the door, stopping as his hand rested against the knob. He pondered a bit before he turned his head to look back at her through a glance at his side.

 

                  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you about this.” He said before turning the knob, waving his hand behind him as he walked through the doorway.

 

                  “Good night.”

 

                  The door once again clicked shut, leaving Tenten alone in the oncoming darkness of nightfall.

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

 

                  Morning came in the gentlest of manner, with the sun rising in the horizon as the moon fell opposite to the gaping star. The day was just beginning to break as the light tweeting and conversations passing between the birds flew by with ease, the nests already developing rigidly for the colder seasons to come among the stretching limbs of the bark of the undressing trees.

 

                  As always, light poured into the darkness left over by the night, removing the blankets the covered the shadows from within and allowing them to stand tall against their references. It was a slow-moving morning, the dawn becoming unhinged as the earth nevertheless continued to spin against the conformities granted during the time of darkness upon those elongated hours of slumber.

 

                  It was the time of the day to check on the patients, seeing it fit to be informed of their time of rest when they were sent to their own leisure and one after another, nurses began to fill the hallways, knocking softly against the surface of the doors before opening them with a creaking resistance.

 

                  A knock was heard at Tenten’s door, opening just shortly after to reveal the kind and rather childish face of a young nurse holding a tray of food within her grasp.

 

                  She muttered nothing until she was closer to the bedside, setting the tray down on the nightstand before she placed a warming smile on her pale lips.

 

                  “Good morning, Miss Tenten,” she greeted softly as she put her fingers on the sheets, feeling for the familiarity of the patient’s body.

 

                  “I brought you some breakfast,” she whispered, unsure of whether Tenten was still sleeping or not.

 

                  She slowly began to draw back the sheets.

 

                  “Time to wake up-,”

 

                  The nurse gasped as she threw off the sheets, nearly stumbling back onto the chair resting against the wall.

 

                  Before she got to her senses, she sprinted out from the room in an alarming fashion to inform the rest of the staff of the discovery.

 

                  The one thing she had failed to notice was the window which rested open, the air filling the room with the sweet dew of the morning, making the curtains romantically sway to and fro from the pane.

 

                  The hospital gown lay on the floor, crumpled and discarded without a care as the bed lay empty, pillows placed in the spots as a way to fool the nurses into thinking there was someone sleeping.

 

                  It had been hours since that bed had been inhibited and the window had been open.

 

                  The clothes in the wardrobe were missing and it became rather clear what had taken place later in the night.

 

                  Tenten had disappeared.


	8. Chapter 8

She was patient with her footing, careful in leaping from one platform to another as gently as possible, spending less than three seconds upon each outstretched tree limb as she went forward and refused to look back. It had been far too long since this serenity cast its willing shadow over her in the disguise of patchy sunlight that shined like spotlights through the thickness of the branches and bark, many still dressed in the finest leaves of Auburn, honey, and tangerine. The way the chilling breath of the wind smoothed back her loosened hair strands that came out from behind her ears was like a warm hand caressing her cheeks, sending shivers atop of her skin until the earliest of the day turned into the climax of the afternoon, the temperature beginning to incase itself in warmth ever so slightly to add on comfort to her travels.

It would be discrimination to say there was no fear in her heart or troubled throughs echoing in the confinements of her mind’s shelter. For, she did have fears, selfish fears of getting caught by authorities or having to deal with rogues from the other wandering villages. And though the loneliness felt foreign to her comfort, she couldn’t have pushed herself the way she had been if she had been with someone else. There was no one to rely on her and no one she had to rely on.

Her life was in her own hands this time.

Looking back was no longer an option she intended to go to. There was no returning empty-handed and the regrets were just going to go back to haunt her state of being if she gave into the fears running as wild and as free as she did through the canopy of the trees, leaves falling around her passing.

She had surprised herself when she didn’t get captured at the gate of the village, knowing far too well that the chances of being punished for escaping without a direct order from the Hokage were way too high. Lying was simply a chance she was not willing to take, not even for Neji, as she knew he honored the honesty she expressed during the times when morals were considerable and when values were at a loss for words.

His expression, the smile he would rarely show, stayed inside of her heart, letting it beat and pulse with a new kind of rhythm. It was fast and soft at the same time, feeling like a shove within her breast but a tender touch on the outside. The way he had changed was what kept her breathing steady. His truthfulness and honesty about being bound by fate were how she knew to believe in change, to seek out something far more valuable than being bound as a servant. Most of all, it was the flashing gleam he exposed in the shadows of his lavender irises that made her legs push through the soreness and her muscles twitch with electrifying power. He was the reason why she was alive and moving forward, crossing back occasionally with mistakes to just fix them all over again without hesitation.

Her own gaze looked straight ahead, studying the movements of the environment as they danced to the falling of the music, preparing themselves for the harshness yet to come in the winter. Nature’s instincts were taking over and she could feel hers doing the same, her soul intertwined with her body as one entity rather than separate.

She didn’t understand the courage that had welled up within her after she leaped from the window of her hospital room, hastily disrobing herself to put on her clothes hidden in the wardrobe just before she felt the night air greet her with fragile kisses.

And then, she had fled.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………As much as she had wanted to stay sound, it was becoming difficult with each breath she exhaled, her sandals running against the flattened roofs of homes and buildings. She had waited until it was deep into the night when the sky was as black and as deep as an oncoming shadow. During that time of being in solitude, she had checked her scrolls, unraveling them with nimble fingertips to ensure she was prepared for whatever would come her way during this expedition. It was relieving to find that there was food preparation transcribed onto the thick parchment as well as an abundance of weapons she could summon if threats were nearby. Upon checking and examining each one, she had rolled them up once again and placed them behind her in their holder. She planned her route, remembered the way her team had traveled when they were teenagers and what territories to avoid that would lead to defeat. And, when the moment had come when the stars glistened like glitter in the darkening sky, she had taken that leap outside, the fire relighting inside of her as the match had been scraped across her willpower in one swoop of determination.

The challenge was getting past the closed gates on the other side of the village. There were shinobi guarding the area at all times and getting caught would be the end of her going out for a period of time she would not be found of. It was about being more than inside the darkness. If she wanted to get past safely and undetected, she knew that becoming the darkness was the only method.

She had paused atop a quiet flower shop, a family-owned business whose daughter was a friend of Tenten, squatting close to the surface as she had removed one of the scrolls from along her back, opening and unraveling the ribbon of paper until she found what she was seeking.

Her hands made signals, fast and precise movements before she pressed her palm against the seal written in ink. A puff of clouded smoke appeared as a response and a black cloak took the place of the written seal as the clouds were carried away into the atmosphere.

Taking the garment into her hands, she unfolded it until it was ready to be worn. She wrapped it around her, closing it up at the hem with several buttons. She grew hesitant as she put the hood over, knowing well that if someone were to see her they would recognize her immediately. As much as Tenten had preferred to keep her hair up and out of the way, she knew that her life may well depend on her disguise and with a defeated sigh, she reached her hands up and had to undo the braids and the buns until the curls fell once again.

It wasn’t much of a disguise as it was a change in normal appearance. Her headband was hidden away within the cloak and her hair fanned within the hood, making her become a shadow of the night with confidence to not be seen and recognized immediately.

Her scroll was once again rolled up and placed back in safely before she took off, leaving the hair ties and pins atop of roof without a concern of them being discovered, making her way towards the main village gate that was shut just as it always was during the late periods of the night.

It would open again at dawn. She didn’t have much time.

Tenten was taken back in scanning the area below her for any signs of people who might suspect her as an intruder. It was never her task to be concerned with it because her team had Neji. With his power of the byakugon, he could see more than just the energy levels welling inside of people. He could examine an area for miles, detecting possible traps and attacks at almost every angle. It was, respectfully, a job she didn’t care for much and having to rely on her normal rays of vision made the task complicated enough, let alone not near as trustworthy.

It wasn’t until she reached the post that she began to have second thoughts. Her urge to go forward and seek out Neji was much stronger by comparison to her sudden doubt of being able to leave the village and find him in time. There was a higher chance of her getting killed if she weren’t careful and because she was alone, there would be no one there to help her if the trouble ended up hurting her to the point of which she could no longer have the strength to continue fighting on. Whatever mistakes were to happen, whatever events were to unfold, they would place the burden on herself and her decision to have gone alone.

She lingered on the rooftop that was the closest to the gate and knew the decision had to be made at that time. There was always the chance she could die and would never be discovered until she was far from identification. Just the idea of that made her get chills across her skin and shivers up her spine.

It was a risk she was born willing to take.

Tenten watched the post, counting the number of guards routinely for her own comfort.

Three.

The three shinobi did not stay at the post and instead were walking around, prepped with spears for the occurrence of a battle.

The small post was merely a ground-level watch booth, the roof a plain and rather dulling shade of ash with the walls to match, a rectangular window carved out of the middle with a countertop, three bottles of tea resting against the surface.

The confrontation would put an end to her nonsense unless the distraction was convincing and distracting enough to allow her to jump over the gate from the roof and into the trees without skipping a single heartbeat of suspicion.

The bottles gleamed at her from the moonlight shining above, twinkling like the stars in the sky.

She began to rub her hands together, thinking and pondering over her next move. Her fingers felt the scroll bracelets attached to her wrists and, to her luck and amazement, she had left a single hair tie behind the thick band after discarding the others to fit the needs of her disguise.

Taking the band off of her wrist, she gazed at it and looked towards the bottles, a smirk appearing on her face as she twiddled with the hair tie on her fingertips.

Placing her right thumb underneath and inside the hair tie, she pulled back the band with her other hand, her makeshift slingshot perfect in design.

She closed her left eye as she aimed, pointing her slingshot at the center bottle.

There was only one chance to get this right.

But Tenten didn’t need chances.

She never missed her mark.

She pulled the band back, feeling the fabric dig into her flesh on her thumb, eyes narrowed to see through the thickening shadows of the nighttime air. Her breath was held in by her concentration and it wasn’t until she had released the band that she let out a heavy breath, fondling just for a moment to hear the bottle burst into shards and the movement of the three guards as they made their way over to investigate.

Tenten then had leaped from the last building, soaring across the waves hidden in the air like a dove taking flight until she was over the gate’s boundaries, safe and undetected on a first tree branch she had sought after.

The first step had been achieved and it was now time to proceed further with her plans.

Her feet had once again left the surface and within a matter of seconds, the forest and all of its glory and mystery had swallowed Tenten up, leaving the village behind like a seeking recollection she wanted to forget.

……………………………………..

Her body wanted to stop by the time the sun began to once again sulk into the confinements of the darkness, the last rays of gleaming and glittery light shining through the dying leaves that still clung on to the branches of their birth with desperation to stay alive. Though her will to continue onward was heavy, she knew better than anyone of her limits and she had to keep reminding herself that she was alone this time. There was no Gai Sensei to pester her and Neji about continuing training during the night and into the early mornings with Lee. There was also no racing involved that would force her to travel ten times faster and end up arriving much earlier than the plan suggested originally.

The breaks hidden within the soles of her tender feet halted her legs, making her come to a stop upon the branch she had just leaped onto. Her thighs were aching and the muscles along her back tensed up with degrading energy, as if she hadn’t taken a single breath since leaving the village, the oxygen leaving unwillingly from her throat upon her exertion.

She forced herself to come down into a low squat, staring only forward towards the tipping orb of fire for guidance and comfort.

How strange it felt to be alone in a forest of many. There was no one to talk to, no one to laugh with, and no one to make intelligent decisions on behalf of the team. It was now up to her to become all of those factors in a sense of completion for the benefit of her survival and for her sanity.

The softness in the wind made her hood bellow slightly, the ends of the cloak swaying in unison underneath her relaxed frame. It was truly abnormal to have this much serenity to herself, this kind of devotion to the isolation that only she could understand. There was nothing more important than this entire mission and she knew full and well that there would be some form of consequence either during or after.

_No one probably knows that I’m gone_ , she thought soberly as her gaze became down cast and away from the sun. _My friends might not even be concerned…_

Strands of hair grazed her cheeks as she stared down below her, surveying the ground for any sign of inhabitants or lurking corruption waiting to attack her unknowingly.

There would be no slumber tonight, no dreaming of a better tomorrow, or having a nightmare of him dying in front of her wavering eyes as they filled with heavy tears. There would be no nightly shifts of playing the watchdog as the others slept soundly until the morning filled the world once more with a reminder to achieve the most out of the day in such a short period. No, there were risks in sleeping by herself, too many to count and several possibilities that seemed to quicken her heartbeat with paranoia.

That, and she didn’t feel the confidence she usually felt on missions.

Traveling as the moon shown high was a choice she pondered about as she eased onto her rear, turning her back to lean against the bark of the tree stem, her knees up to her chest with her arms wrapped around them gingerly. It seemed like a decent idea for a few seconds until she started to realize that whenever night came, shinobi and villages were on high alert for conspirators hiding within the shadows. That was an event that couldn’t happen and taking that risk would be as stupid as it was an improper sense of judgment to the success of the mission.

Tenten let her back soften against the darkening oak, her breath deepening as she turned back towards the sun, watching it fall into the ocean hidden within the horizon as gently as it emerged.

_Neji, wait for me._

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

An entire lifetime had passed by the time morning came once again, forward in waking the world that was deep within the core of a far-off reality hidden by captivating dreams. However, there was no greeting of the sun like Tenten had hoped there would be as she had watched clouds gather together in the atmosphere surrounding her during the entirety of the late evening and early morning, slowly sticking together like marshmallow fluff.

Her voice had dulled throughout the time of darkness, being encrypted inside her throat to avoid making any sounds or noises that would give her away. She didn’t know how she did it for so many hours, but her paranoia and worries seemed to propel her in doing the best to keep herself safe and awake, as her fears were the only sources of energy she needed to get through a sleepless night.

Not once did she leave the tree she rested so firmly against, seeing that it was her only source of company during her feelings of emptiness.

Her legs, stiff with the stillness brought on during the night, made her rise up once again as she continued to use the tree bark as support with her palm resting against it.

The copper in her irises showed a lack of luster as she observed the ground, the rest of the forest, and the smallest corners that could be hiding a potential threat. As far as she could witness, there was no one except her in this geographical radius and while it was comforting to know that Intel, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up with anticipation.

The cawing of the crows began to shake the canopies as groups dove out and flew into the confinements of the darkening clouds, stretching their wings to travel as one to a much more suitable environment. Even so, it was odd to see a sudden flock of them release themselves all at once, especially when nothing had triggered

Tenten’s eyes widened and as she turned to look from behind, the blade of a kunai stabbing into the bark beside her head, nearly missing her eye by a few close centimeters.

Her exhale turned into a gasp as her breath had caught itself in her throat, her panic rising and bubbling inside of her chest.

Without hesitation, she fled, jumping from branch to branch at the speed of traveling light, away from where the kunai had almost struck her. Her lungs palpated against her ribs, her heart nearly bursting with tepidness as she took flight, cursing herself for letting her guard down so easily. The birds had been the only sign given to her and she had taken too much time to let that sink in.

With her hood drawn up over her head, she continued to flee, feeling like a coward as she became infuriated that she couldn’t risk fighting.

Her cheeks reddened with irritation at this retreat, her degrading thoughts of uselessness captivating her confidence all at once. Though she wanted nothing more than to turn back and fight, she knew that she would be at a disadvantage if that person who had shot the kunai at her wasn’t alone.

Another kunai soared past her ear, once again missing by a strict margin.

She landed stiffly on the next branch, grabbing a scroll from behind her back inside of the cloak, unraveling it as she turned back, unleashing a spew of kunais with paper bombs gracefully flying behind them at the direction in which the kunai had flown at her.

Tenten held tension in her calves as she squatted down slightly, building the pressure into her muscles as she took flight into the sky the moment the kunai bombs went off, one after another in perfect unison.

She flipped her body, landing on another branch several yards away from the bickering and burning puffs of the flames, the smoke cascading into the wind like a breeze left behind.

_Did I get them?_

Silence breathed new life into her as she waited, her impatience growing with her anxiety.

It was so sudden when it happened, her body turned on its own to counterattack the figure soaring towards her. She dodged the wavering fist, shifting her torso and lifting her knee to pound into the figure’s abdomen, hearing them gasp at the sudden strike.

Their body hoisted upward, their back hitting the branch above Tenten with a painful blow. She readied her fist just as the body came down once more, punching with all her might against the figure’s face, sending them falling to the ground where they landed with a loud thud and a cloud of dust encircling them.

Her breath returned to a normal pace as she waited for the dust to disappear and when it did, she felt her heart rise in her throat.

A log was nestled into the ground where the person was supposed to be.

The substitution jutsu was just what she had expected, and she whipped out the same scroll, biting her flesh on her thumb to spread a thickening layer of blood against the parchment as a katana appeared within the puff of clouds, the blade gleaming with a sharpness willing to cut through flesh and bone if it was willed to do so at the hands of the user.

She held the blade up to her face, the darkness in her eyes reflecting against the metal made into the blade, light shining off as she swung the katana back, barely dodging the real figure as they jumped down towards her, ready to strike with a sword of their own.

Tenten dodged with ease, spinning on her feet as she clasped the sword into her palms, grounding herself as she went forward, her teeth gritting as she jumped, deflecting the strike from the figure as the swords clanged against one another in the battle of dominance.

She flipped herself midair, finding stability against the side of a tree before soaring off, launching towards the figure once more, this time feeling the edge of her katana slash through burning flesh as she swung the sword from her side.

Flecks of blood spattered against the drying leaves from above and while the hit was satisfying to her, Tenten wasn’t finished just yet.

With the sword aimed at the throat of the figure, she made her way from above, gravity giving her the pressure she needed to strike.

That was when she saw the face staring back at her in frightful determination to become to the winner in the dance of the swordsmen, the gleaming specks of green flashing as the man’s headband shimmered, showing the Hidden Rain Village’s symbol clearly.

Tenten held back as her opponent swung at her, dodging with ease as she turned, spinning her leg around, striking him with her foot and forceful kick in the face, sending him backward, branches severing as he crashed into them.

Her eyebrows narrowed as she glared, racing towards the enemy at full-speed, the fire burning in her pupils as she became engulfed in winning the round.

He landed against the ground, sliding across the dirt until his back slammed against a tree, forcing him to gasp as he coughed up blood, scratches raking his body like claw marks.

She landed before him, pressing her foot against his chest as her katana stopped at his Adam's apple, her muscles still tense with the desire to continue fighting.

His eyes had been shut, waiting for death, but when it didn’t come, he held in his fear to open his eyes, feeling the piercing approach of the blade against his bobbing throat and the foot forcing itself into his chest.

He stared up, taking in the sight of the cloaked woman in front of him, her hood no longer hiding her head as her brown locks blew hesitantly among the breath of the wind, her eyes never leave his as she pointed her blade, ready to sever his thread of life within a blink of the eye.

“Who the hell are you?” she demanded, the darkness in her copper eyes never leaving his.

He was still for a moment, gazing up at her with uncertainty.

“Did you not hear me?” she growled as she forced her foot deeper into his chest. Her impatience was growing the more he hesitated to give her an answer.

“I-I’m from the Hidden Rain Village,” he muttered, avoiding her stare as he answered most unwillingly.

“I could tell you that from the headband,” she sighed heavily. “What’s your name? Why are you out here and, more importantly, what did you wish to gain from attacking me head-on?”

Once again, he answered her with silence.

“Answer me, damn it!” she shouted, making the blade poke into his flesh slightly.

“Isn’t it fair to attack someone that could be an enemy? Especially someone wearing a dark cloak like you are in the middle of the forest. If anything, I should be asking you why you didn’t stop the battle from the first place if you wanted me to trust you.”

Tenten scoffed under her breath in annoyance.

“My name,” he said, continuing with a narrow tone. “Is not important to you nor will it be for long.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“What are you talking about?”

A sneer placed itself across his lips.

“You fell for it.”

She opened her mouth to respond but before she could muster out a sound, a large hand clasped over her lips and an arm wrapped itself around her waist and trapped her arms against her body, hoisting her away from the man that had been involved in the interrogation.

Her katana dropped to the ground as she started to kick, squirming as she tried to use as much strength as she could to free herself. But the man behind her was much bigger, much stronger than she was, and he was laughing at her in dominance, her fight proving itself to be weak and rather pathetic to pleasure his sense of humor.

The shinobi that had attacked her rose from beneath the tree, the smile still streaking his lips in an antagonizing smirk as he reached into a pocket behind him, pulling out a container filled with a striking green liquid, a capped needle placed on the side of it to form a makeshift syringe.

He edged near her, avoiding her kicks as she started to yell in protest, her voice muffled by the calloused hand clamped over her lips.

The cap was removed and the needle’s blade shined.

Tenten felt her eyes widen as he approached her, the syringe in his grasp as he neared her side, laughing in victory before he touched his nimble fingers to her neck, a shivering wave of bitterness flowing from his touch across her skin.

He moved her visible strands to the side with his arm, revealing her neck and with one clear shot, he pushed the needle into her flesh, deep inside, letting the green liquid pour out from the barrel and into her stream.

She struggled and tried to scream, fighting with every ounce of her being until her mind fogged and her eyes saw blurs.

Her head shook as she tried to keep the focus on escaping, to keep fighting no matter what it took.

Instead, her body went still as darkness swallowed her, the shadows slowly creeping into her vision as she felt her mind drown in uncertainty.

She began to forget in a matter of seconds what had happened and with a final breath, she drifted away from reality and into a state of an unconscious wake.

 


	9. Chapter 9

_It was warm where she sat against the shore of the beach, her toes and the soles of her feet pressing themselves into the foam that rose forward and back, roaring gently with each sway. Grains of the sand stuck to her skin, now wet and moist from the salted sea water that splashed around her, her feet making smaller waves as the water tried to push past them entirely, failing each time with little effort once the foam retreated, coming forward only seconds later, the emerald blue shining perfectly in the sunshine with each movement. Several clouds hung up in the beryl paling of the sky, lazily drifting by the nearly blinding sun as it shined enough light to cover the entire land in its gentle warmth, the only shadows being that from the palm trees in the back, away from the coast as they guided into a single tropical forest, the leaves spread out like fans as the thickening of the bark tilted forward to support their weight. It was quiet, all but the singing of the ocean as it continued to roll in perfect harmony, never growing into a full tide that would force her to leave its company._

_How small she felt as she sat above the infant tides, feeling the fanning of the water around her body. The braids nestled against her back, several strands finding their way out of the tightly knitted knots and swaying in rhythm with the breeze, just as the sunhat upon her protected crown gently danced in the wind, the straw matching the sand below her. Though her cotton dress would be stained with bits of sand, it did not seem to bother her that the white texture would be wet and stuck with the earth beneath her. It felt different, the way she stared out into the vastness, looking for nothing in particular other than the beauty she felt within the peaceful surroundings she found herself in, her knees resting against her chest as she leaned forward, her chin resting against the caps as her arms wrapped around her legs._

_She didn’t know the name of where she was, the location that brought her such peace. She didn’t even know if she was alone on this beach or if she was the only one dreaming with her eyes wide open, taking in the sea with wholesome recollection. Where she was or whether or not she was alone, the way it made her feel was something new, an emotion she couldn’t describe. The only thing she knew was that she was at peace with herself and the world around her as the ocean water continued to plant kisses on her toes and gently pat against the skin on her feet._

_Just as she started to close her eyes,_ _a drift caught her hat and began to blow it away. She stood up abruptly and chased the straw sunhat as it continued to travel in the wind, her arm outstretched and reaching for it._

 _She eventually started to run, chasing the article with all of her_ being _, stopping along the way to catch her breath after a few_ frustrating _attempts to grab her target as it was flushed away in the summer winds._

 _Her palms rested against her knees as she leaned down, panting slightly, not noticing the hat land in the sand once again, resting in absolute silence before a hand reached down and picked it up, dusting it off before approaching her, the arm outstretched as the_ hand holding _the hat out to her._

_She smiled as she looked up, about to thank the stranger until she saw the face. It was a face she recognized._

_It was his face._

_His dark strands were loose and dancing with the swirl of the wind, the pearls within his eyes softening as he allowed a small smile to drift across his closed lips when she stood, tenderly taking her hat back out of his grasp, holding it against her chest with the same smile plastered on her lips as she gazed up at him._

_They shared the silence between them, not_ uttering _a word as she placed the hat back on her head, her scalp already heated by the sun’s rays. They stood still, looking at one another for a moment, blinking as time continued to drift by, following the journey of the clouds as one._

_He looked at her softly as he took her hand into his, holding her palm up to his lips to plant a peck on the back of her hand against her skin, kissing her knuckles with the same tenderness as his eyes closed, opening again to see a faint blush flow into her cheeks in response to the loving gesture._

_He let her hand fall down once more, still holding onto it as he started to walk beside her, making her turn to follow him, their footprints chasing one another in the sand, not even being swept away by the foam. She noticed he wore the same blue trunks he usually wore whenever they went to the beach, this beach, the place where the rest of the world could fall apart while this area stayed whole and intact._

_They returned to where she had sat originally. It was him who started to sit down as she followed suit and rested beside him, feeling the touch of his bare skin beside her as the stared out into the ocean, watching as time went by ever-so-slowly. Not that they didn’t mind of course._

_She could stay there forever, sitting on the beach as the tides wisped by their feet, sighing as they watched the sea and the clouds dance in unison, the clearing reflecting off each other like soulmates meeting for the first time._

_He looked well himself, almost like the way he looked while he meditated in silence. She saw the entire world reflect in his mirroring eyes and she felt like she could gaze into them for as long as he would let her._

_She turned her head to look at his face, seeing the way his eyes sought out the same comfort she was feeling just by being beside him, letting time take the place of their worries for none of it mattered anymore. He was here with her just as she was with him. There was nothing she needed to ponder over, nothing she needed to grow angry of. The only thing she felt was a sudden yearning for him and that thirst had finally been quenched as he turned his eyes to face her, their gaze meeting once again with the blush forming back inside her cheeks._

_He seemed amused by her expression and as she tried to turn her head away from his to hide her embarrassment, she felt his hand place itself warmly against her cheek, preventing her from averting her gaze. He sat closer to her, leaning in towards her to place his naked forehead against her bangs that curtained over hers._

_Without hesitation, she reached her hand up, placing her palm soundly against his that rested against her cheek, feeling her eyes close upon the contact he made with her. His eyes rested as well and they both took in each other’s company, the intimacy growing steadily when she felt his other hand reach behind her, taking one of her braids between his fingers, gently swirling and playing with the knotted strands while he continued to fall into her just as she was falling deep into him, their bodies becoming nothing more than flesh as their souls intertwined from within._

_It seemed like an odd occurrence to her, to be in this form of embrace she would’ve never guessed would happen with him. She was grateful though, not because she was in the embrace of someone who loved her, but because she was with him and he was the one who loved her. How shallow her breath felt in her chest, the way he relaxed her and put her at ease making those inhales and exhales become one with the ocean and the more she took him in, the more she began to understand that she was accepted as she was not as who she could become with change. While she strived for nothing more than to change herself, to make herself useful in saving the lives of her friends by just using her abilities, he was always there, seeing what strength she had and how much she had worked. He was, in a sense, proud of her for everything she had done not just for him, but for the entire team. The way he held her now was a sign of those feelings of mutual awakening that were beginning to dawn in his soul and she could feel every beat of that loving nature as he got closer to her, pulling her into his chest as he removed his hand from her cheek._

_She felt his jaw move as it rested on her head, his mouth uttering words she could not simply hear, but rather feel against her skull._

_Her head tilted upward, her eyes craving his gaze upon hers, but the moment she looked up, he was gone._

_She looked around, frantically trying to find him, even digging around in the sand despite her knowing it was useless and rather stupid to attempt that action in her desperation._

_Her eyes shifted rapidly, her back turning, looking around for him and his presence hidden within the ocean or behind the palm trees._

_The more she looked, the more she started to see that she was once again alone in this beautiful place, in the form she had found herself in, sitting along the coast, allowing the water to splash against her toes and onto her skin as she sat in silence._

_Her body curled itself back up, her knees upward against her chest with her forehead resting on her caps, her back shifting as tears fell from her eyes._

_She wanted him to come back, to return to her side and hold her the same way he had down earlier before he had vanished. She wanted him to hold her hand, to kiss her knuckles, and to press his forehead against hers_ as _he had._

_It was no use in hoping, for she knew that she was alone once again._

_It hurt, more than she could ever imagine and more than any physical pain she could withstand._

And that pain of being alone was what forced Tenten to open her eyes, the image of the beach, the gentleness of the waves against her feet, and the tender breezes that filled the air gone into thin air as she stared into a pool of darkness, unsure of where she was or how she got there.

…………………………………………………………………………………..

Her cheek felt the frost of the hardening floor, a waxed concrete was what Tenten had guessed as her head throbbed against the surface of the ground. She blinked slowly, trying to see her way through the darkness that had taken away that beautiful dream, the dream she had shared with Neji, and the place she wanted to return to now more than ever.

Her lips were dry and parched as her throat burned slightly upon her first gulp in an awakened state, the musty air forcing her to cough once it entered her lungs, fogging them up like the darkness that surrounded her drearily. She took slower breaths, attempting to relax her unease towards the new place she found herself in, a location she didn’t feel familiar with in the slightest.

Tenten felt her head pulsate another throb and she grimaced with pain.

As she tried to lift her hands up to her head to cradle the electrifying sensation, she began to take heed of the burning and rather stinging sensation tingling in her wrists as a thick and rather worn rope tied both together, making her hands useless for pretty much everything she needed to do. She tried to move her legs, feeling the same sensation through her ankles as they were in the same situation as her sore wrists, tied and immobile to her needs.

Despite the situation, she found herself in, Tenten knew that staying calm was the only way to figure what worked and what didn’t. Though she hadn’t been in a captured state on any mission she was ever assigned to, she knew what her responsibilities were and showcasing fear was one way to completely lose it and show weakness of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Being weak was not a characteristic Tenten was fond of, nor was playing the damsel that needed her hero to rescue her. This was real life, not some kind of dream she went in after her pleasant fantasy. Now, it was survival.

Her head turned slightly, looking up and over her shoulder to see anything besides the lurking darkness. When nothing came to her attention immediately, she stilled her sigh as she tried to sit up, propping her side against her elbow, pushing off the cold floor until she sat up completely.

Sitting felt much better than laying down with her cheek pressed into the timidly sharp coolness the ground inhibited and she could feel the throbbing rattling her skull cease slowly with her change in posture.

Her cloak had been removed and was now draped over her like a blanket as her hair was out and tangled as it fell beneath her shoulders. Although, there was something off, something that didn’t bother her until she realized what it was.

The scrolls that rested behind her back, nestled in their pouch, were gone.

She hadn’t felt their shape as she had sat up, nor did she feel anything now. The scrolls were no doubt taken away from her as a means of rendering her useless in the event of a battle. That and those scrolls had enough blades to cut through her restraints without hesitation.

Sitting alone in the darkness was becoming a frustrating and rather deviant task Tenten was not keen on continuing. She needed the action, the determination to fight, and to figure out a plan on her own to escape if all was possible.

She surpassed a groan, small but enough to be heard from a few feet’s distances away.

Nothing.

Cursing underneath the warmth of her breath, she turned her body, making her sit up on her rear with her knees pointing upward as her legs made a triangle with the floor. Taking her feet a few inches further, she weighed the soles down as she began to scoot forward, allowing herself mobility in trying to find the answers she was looking for so passionately.

After repeating this process several times, Tenten began to guess how big the room actually was, though, she had initially thought it had been a smaller room since her groan didn’t echo as punctually as it would’ve with a much larger location. Still, she continued to guide herself fondly across the hardening surface of the floor.

It wasn’t until her toes pressed up against the wall upon her seventh try that she knew she had come to the edge of the room and she sat, still and alert as she pondered over her next motive.

Though she knew it was stupid and by far the dumbest action any shinobi could take when being held in a hostage-like situation, Tenten couldn’t see any other way around this wall that capsulated her in this darkened room with a musty aura that made her gag presently. Even if this got her killed, it would at least give her the answer she needed to figure out where she had woken up in.

“Hey!” she yelled into the shadows that pooled around her frame like blood. “Is anybody there?”

No answer.

“Hey!” she yelled, much louder this time. “I know someone is there! I want some damn answers so get in here!”

She felt herself ease into the silence as she waited for some kind of answer and when she finally got one, her anxiety overtook her mercilessly.

The deep padding of shoes stepped in a weakened state to her left, eerily drifting in from afar. There was no hurry, no feeling of needing to rush in the way those footsteps were, perhaps, approaching Tenten’s location, as if there was no greater importance than getting by and ignoring her demands. They came slow and steady, their sound increasing as they drifted closer to where she sat, her feet still pressed up against the wall in stillness.

It wasn’t until those steps had approached their loudest volume yet that they ceased further, stopping immediately either in front or behind Tenten’s weary form. She swallowed and felt a lump form in her throat as she tried to control her breathing, anxiety overwhelming her very existence at the thought of the owner of the footsteps walking in and ending the life of her within seconds.

There was a creak, a deepening and rather sinister sound that strained against Tenten’s agitated ears as it continued, letting in a strip of light cut into the darkness and shine over her body as she stared, eyes squinted to the other side where she had heard the footsteps first begin to cease.

The footsteps had belonged to a man, older than Kakashi by at least ten years, with a ghastly aftershave over his drunken face, eyes red and sunken into the sockets without the effort to stay above and look like a living person’s eyes. He wore a flimsy excuse for a suit, only styling the jacket with a button-up underneath and dress pants reaching past his ankles, hovering over his leather shoes with inaccuracy regarding size and care to appearance.

His shadow, long and narrow, wielded itself in the streak of light entering the room, his figure standing still for a moment before advancing inside, the door creaking once more as he shut the platform behind him, leaving the two in total darkness.

Tenten heard a click and a shock of electricity as a single lightbulb became lit with a damning golden ray, shining a bit too brightly down on Tenten’s irritated and rather fatigued expression, her body slouched over as she peered hastily towards the figure standing against the door.

“You called?”

His voice lay broken and husk, a little intimidating to Tenten’s liking of comfort.

“Who are you?” she questioned briskly, her hair on the back of her neck standing on end with suspicion and agitation growing in her throat.

Placing his hands into the deep folds of his jacket’s pockets, he began to approach her, turning as he surveyed her, walking around as if to find every single nook and cranny she held at her side.

She hated the way he looked at her.

“And why is my name important to you?” he responded calmly, almost as if he was mocking her.

“Because,” she growled. “I want to at least have a name is seek revenge on for doing this to me.”

“If you are talking about me, then you are very much in the wrong state of mind, my dear,” he said with the same calmness that was beginning to irritate her. “It was not I who did this to you. It was the two men you met in the forest that was governed by my orders. I was the one that initiated the course of action, but I wasn’t the one who carried it out.”

“So, you’re the leader?”

“That is correct.”

Tenten locked her eyes onto him as he continued to move around her, studying her with snapshots radiating from his pupils. The way he was peering at her was not innocent, but rather, seeping as his gaze wanted to look all over her and into her head and her heart, finding what made her tick the most and force his way into her discomfort.

“Tell me,” she began again, holding back her plain annoyance. “What group are you the leader of? “

“Can you take a guess?”

Tenten narrowed her eyes at his shadow passing by.

“I saw the headband worn by one of your ‘ninjas’; the Hidden Rain Village symbol was the sign that was engraved on the metal. I can only assume that you are the leader of the group that has been wreaking havoc across every village, capturing young women and forcing them to become your income through prostitution by the means of threatening them.”

“Spot on. Although, it sounds much worse coming from a woman than it does coming from a man.”

“That’s because you are not the ones suffering. You aren’t the ones being threatened to become a sex worker for someone else’s benefit.”

She swore she heard him scoff amusingly at her before he stopped, taking a squat to leer at her face.

That same shadow that revealed itself across the floor was guided into his eyes, pouring their darkness into hers as she fought back the urge to look away.

She wanted nothing more than to spit on that ugly face of his.

“You may be right,” he chuckled, his smile revealing a dulling shade of yellow against his teeth, several of which absent from his gum line. “I must admit, for a girl as smart as you, it was a surprise that they managed to bring you back. I thought someone from the Leaf would’ve put up a better fight.”

“Untie me and I’ll show you what a Leaf Village ninja can really do.”

“Tempting, but I am going to have to refuse that offer.”

Tenten glared pressingly at him.

“It was pure luck that we managed to capture you,” he began, leaning closer to her. “We received information from one of our spies that a couple of Leaf Village Shinobi planned to assassinate me and arrest the other members of this group. They must be on their way right now and I am sure I can use you to my advantage.”

Without warning, he reached his hand and locked it underneath her jaw, squeezing her cheeks as he pulled her face closer to his, his odor within his breath making her hold back a gag.

“You are a very pretty young lady. It would be a shame if that pretty little face of yours had some bruises and lesions on those smooth cheeks. Or if you were beaten so badly for misbehaving that you became unrecognizable to your own comrades.”

Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, more so out of anger than of fear.

He released her face, shoving her back onto the ground, the back of her head hitting the surface. Tenten grunted in response to the slight pain echoing in her throbbing skull, never taking her eyes off of the awful man before her.

Once again, he made his way to her side, scooting closer to her chest as he allowed his hand to stroke lightly against her breast.

Discomfort only fueled her rage and she took aim, spitting right into his eye.

“Don’t touch me,” she ordered stiffly, her glare intensifying as her bravery shined through.

She felt his hand smack her cheek harshly as he stood, taking his fingers to wipe away the saliva that stained the surface of his eye. For once he didn’t look so cocky and so deployed.

She had seen the anger begin to appear.

“Listen carefully, you bitch,” he said with a threatening edge to his voice. “As long as you are here, you are my whore, my servant, and my prisoner. I will not hesitate to slash open that soft neck of yours if you keep this attitude up. I won’t even wait for the shinobi to find me. I’ll just torture you and show the results to them when they do show up (if they ever do) and I will bask in the horror on their faces.”

He turned away from her, shifting his pace towards the door.

“It would be such a terrible moment for your teammates to see you in such bad shape. Wouldn’t it, Tenten?”

Her eyes widened as he said her name.

“How do you-?”

Before she could finish her question, the door had slammed shut behind the man, leaving her to once again seek solitude hidden within the darkness of her chamber.

 


	10. Chapter 10

It was the sudden bitterness in the nightly air that made him stir in his upright position as he attempted to meditate, making him jump with a shutter as the surviving katanas of grass withheld his pressure underneath his stiff posture. With each day’s passing, the air was becoming harsher and much colder than the last, making the process of keeping their position under wraps nearly impossible with the company of the fire burning the brittle wood as the flames danced and flickered out into the shadows creeping in from the clear sky, stars shifting and dazzling across the sphering dome as a river of beryl streamed down the center, stretching like the northern lights as it divided the land of the celestial bodies into two sides.

                 

                  The light that radiated from the flaming source of warmth splashed across his face, placing shadows underneath his eyes, nose, chin, and in the places his neck was hidden by his jetting strands of dark hair that had escaped from the low placed ponytail resting against his back, the fabric of his green shinobi vest preventing him from feeling any of it. Indeed, he was glad his uniform clothing provided him with some warmth and as he opened his eyes timidly to reveal the pearling cream of lavender resting in his irises, he saw the two teammates laying on either side of the fire, one of which was snoring softly.

 

                  It was Lee, resting in his odd position, his survival blanket tangled up in his odd arrangement of limbs, his snores mellowing in the night after each inhale. The sight was one to get used to and while he was used to it, he couldn’t help but smile at the ridiculousness his teammate carried. Though, this time was different because there was no smile, not even a small one, for she was not there to remind him of the little things in life that were so precious, even something as weird as Lee sleeping.

 

                  He started to remember as his eyes watched the repetitive movement of the flames. She would always look annoyed, rolling her eyes or giving off a rather disturbed face before she turned, smiling, and he knew that he couldn’t help but smile with her in those moments. She had always been the “straight-man” in the group, dissolving the stupidity before it progressed forward. That was how the team worked.

 

                  That’s how it used to be.

 

                  There seldom was a team that existed now. She had distanced herself from both Lee and him dramatically after the war had ended and his dear cousin had married the man she had admired since their childish days. The last time he had spoken to her was the first time he had seen her face, let alone heard her voice in the course of several months, almost a year. Whenever there was a mission designed for their team, she withered out of it and the Hokage said nothing more in the matter. Her position as the team’s sanity was always changed and was never the same person. Most of the time, her replacement was a person neither he or Lee had met before and therefore never got the chance to know during the course of the mission.

 

                  His eyes narrowed at her memory, the appearance of her smiling face fading in his wake as he tried to keep a hold on the image for as long as he could, never wanting to let it fade from his memory.

 

                  It was because of him that she had become this way and why she had changed the way she did so suddenly, and he couldn’t help but feel as if he made matters worse with dropping that life-changing question on her the way he did on the first time he had seen her in such a long period.

                 

                  Yes, he had rushed things and the guilt of making her run off was consuming and eating him up on the inside, but what else was he supposed to do? Wait until she wandered back to him as most cowardly men do?

 

                  Perhaps he had been too blunt and the suddenness in his embrace had surprised him as much as it surprised her. What bothered him the most was the way she clung onto him, burying herself into him as she cried out until she broke free and ran away, leaving him behind in the deserted garden like a weary traveler.

 

                  And yet, as much as he didn’t want to admit it to himself or to others, he loved her, much more than she thought he did. If only none of this mess had happened, then perhaps things would’ve worked out more smoothly than they had.

 

                  Maybe she would’ve said “yes”.

 

                  A shuffling from the blanket interrupted his incoherent thinking, bringing him back to the attention of guarding his teammates as they rested on the earth. He saw the outline of Shikamaru’s hair, a ponytail that looked more like a frightened cat tail than a regular style, as his head rested against his palm, his elbow propped up on the ground with his eyes facing his guarding teammate.

 

                  “Ready to switch?” he asked as he mustered a yawn.

 

                  “No, I think I can keep watch for the rest of the night. Besides, Lee is far from being capable of waking up, so there is no need to switch with equal amounts of time.”

 

                  Shikamaru said nothing, rather, he scoffed at the response and sat up, pulling the blanket off his body before allowing it to shift into a pile beside him, his legs crossed beneath him as he hunched over, looking at the other intently.

 

                  “Alright, what’s going on?”

 

                  “What do you mean?”

 

                  “Don’t make me say it, Neji.”

 

                  Neji tried his best to hide his confusion in a neutral expression, but Shikamaru only smiled at Neji’s attempt to keep hiding.

 

                  “I get it. You are hiding something because you feel like it isn’t important, or it deals with emotions, right? Specifically, your emotions.”

 

                  Neji’s gaze once more returned to the waving of the flames, not daring to meet Shikamaru’s in replacement of a verbal response.

 

                  “You’ve been acting off ever since we left,” Shikamaru muttered as he looked into the flames, letting the same light splash against his skin and reflect in the shadow of his pupils. “I don’t think I have ever seen you so… unfocused in a mission. I’m not saying or forcing you to tell me what is going on with you, but it will be a real drag to have a slip up in this mission.”

 

                  “Shikamaru,” Neji retorted, defeat in his tone. “It is not an easy thing to admit to anyone-,”

 

                  “It sounds like you found someone.”

 

                  “’ Found someone?’”

 

                  “Yeah, the love of your life, right?”

 

                  “Don’t be ridiculous!”

 

                  The tender interrogation ended with the sound of the drying foliage fluttering in the light of the moon, shifting as some fell and wavered as they neared the ground, resting as they curled upward. Shikamaru picked up a single leaf, a vibrant tangerine color that was causing the brittleness of the tree’s offspring to soften with the beginning of the colder months. He studied the surface, twirling and spinning the stem between the print of his finger, looking at the artifact of life with a dulling nature.

 

                  It was hard for Neji to determine if the fire was getting warmer or it was his blood rushing to his cheeks as he tried to surpass an expression that would give himself away to Shikamaru’s assumption, despite the latter being correct in a more touching way. Though Neji was aware of the intelligence Shikamaru possessed, he often found himself surprised in what his teammate said, typically because he was always right about most things, including the change in people’s demeanor if they occurred suddenly.

                 

                  After several grueling moments of silence, Neji was alerted by the sound of a wavering crack coming from beneath the flames as the dying wood settled onto its burning grave. He heard Shikamaru chuckle underneath his breath.

 

                  “Neji, you make it painfully obvious that something is going on with you.”

 

                  “Oh, and what makes you so confident in your conclusion?”

 

                  “Well, for one thing, I have never seen you so on-edge, for lack of better word. It’s troublesome, really.”

 

                  A slight smile appeared across Neji’s lips as he scoffed pleasantly.

 

                  “I suppose you are correct, as always.”

 

                  Shikamaru pressed himself against the earth, his palms behind him as he leaned back, allowing his jaw to tilt his face upward, his eyes reflecting the darkening sky filled with the bulbs of light. Neji heard him inhale the sweet air deeply, allowing it to consume his entire body, cleansing it with a brisk exhale as he sighed against the passing breeze.

 

                  “It has been a while since we’ve been assigned to the same mission, hasn’t it?” he said as his eyes narrowed, still looking towards the sky for guidance.

 

                  “Indeed, it has. There hasn’t been an abundance of missions since the war ended.” Neji responded with a slight edge to his tone.

 

                  Shikamaru turned his head towards Neji, his expression the same as before.

 

                  “Speaking of that, how are you doing? Have your wounds finally healed up?”

 

                  Neji lowered his gaze, the pearling lavender becoming a darker shade in the absence of the exposed light from the small fire. His hand lifted up, allowing him to press his palm delicately against the left side of his chest, the same location to where one of his scars lay hidden deep within his skin.

 

 

                 

 

                  He visualized it, the way the scar’s layer of healing flesh appeared slightly darker than the rest of his fair skin, a permanent reminder of the pain he endured and the death that had somehow been prevented thanks to the curse mark that lay in its own grave, the one thing he was glad to leave behind in the past.

 

                  “Yes. It took some time, more than I thought it would. Then again, that may have been due to my lack of patience for missing so much training.”

 

                  Shikamaru sighed in response, returning back into an upright position as he uncrossed his legs out from underneath his body, moving them out and straight as he slowly made his way against lying upon the ground once again, his hands resting beneath his skull, his eyes closed in delicate nature.

 

                  “How about the rest of Team Guy?”

 

                  Neji allowed his hand to drift away from his covered scar, letting it fall and rest against his thigh once more as the light of the fire danced across his face, his body and breath still as a drift caught bits of his hair and waved them gently to the side before they settled once more on the sides of his face, resting across his shoulders with their longing texture.

 

                  “Guy Sensei is still as crazy as ever,” he began, the smile once again returning lightly across his closed lips when he paused. “The hospital has to be on constant alert in case he tried to escape or start training again. The fuss he has made about continuing his ‘youthful development’ is still as annoying as ever. I can’t blame him for being in denial of his injuries, but knowing Guy Sensei, he will figure out some way to train alongside his disciple once again.”

 

                  Neji peered at Lee, his snoring much lighter this time than it had been in such a long time.

 

                  “As for Lee,” he continued on. “He is still challenging me to a fight nearly every day. It can become irritating after some time, especially when there is no one there to stop him from doing so.”

 

                  He stopped.

 

                  Shikamaru opened one eye, waiting for Neji to continue on.

 

                  No words came out and the silence in the air was like wringing out a wet rag, damp and grim in undertone.

 

                  “What about Tenten?” Shikamaru asked when the silence and suspicion had become too much to handle.

 

                  “I’m not sure,” Neji mumbled, his posture shifting beneath him. “I haven’t seen much of her lately. I think she harbors some hatred towards me or maybe she is just going through personal dilemmas.”

 

                  “It’s both,”

 

                  It was now Neji’s turn to listen.

 

                  Shikamaru allowed his eyes to close once more as he settled comfortably into his position against the ground, another dulling sigh escaping from his narrowed lips.

 

                  “It has become obvious that she started acting out of character after the war ended, especially towards you. All of us, Naruto, Hinata, Choji, Ino, Sakura, Shino, Kiba… we all knew and saw it with our own eyes without having to ask Tenten or you. If there is one thing I know for certain, it’s that she doesn’t hate anyone, especially not you.”

 

                  Neji turned, his eyes opening wider as he looked towards Shikamaru in waiting.

 

                  “If anything, I think it’s the exact opposite of what you are thinking,” he proceeded compassionately for easing Neji’s nerves. “The reason why she has been avoiding you is not because of hatred, but because of love.”

 

                  Neji’s eyes widened as he was taken back, blinking several times before easing back into a quiet stance.

 

                  “That doesn’t make any sense.” He said, primarily to himself.

 

                  “Maybe not to you,” Shikamaru responded. “But to all of us, it has become apparent that she does not hate you. Honestly, it’s such a drag when someone as receptive and as knowledgeable as you lack knowing the truth behind human emotion and behavior.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

                 

 

                  With a brisk pause, the trees around them whispered in mutiny with the little amount of leaves they had left, rubbing against the blowing coolness as the flora and fauna took a breath in all at once, shutting out the sounds of the damned left behind in the decay of what was yesterday and what was now today. The moon had come to a crescent, arching itself inward as it cradled the rest of its celestial children living among the stars, slowly sinking into the blackening darkness as time trudged onward, stopping for none as it had since it has been invented as a concept in favor of human growth. This was the only moment in which the world was at peace, the earth continuing as if holding grudges was never an action it found itself performing. It was, to say gently, the first time in a long time the world has seen the end of the wars, the end of the ceaseless and unnecessary fighting between people of the same species and all at once had the moments shared in between the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon were pleasant memories, lasting a lifetime and ending with its true nature of freedom, the same freedom Neji had felt as the curse was lifted away, dissolving from his skin like salt in water, flowing into the winds like a ribbon until it was no more, the sight of such a reminder gone with the passage of time all on its own.

 

                  What had made him awaken from his spell of death was unbeknownst to himself as it was to others. It had seemed like a dream, a painless experience as he had made his choice to accept death willingly and without argument, knowing that he would once again see the face of his father once again, this time with a smile on his face as he welcomed his only son into the afterlife. Before he had took in another breath, Neji had seen his father just looking at him, the smile he had wanted to see so badly now there as his father approached him, placing a warming hand on his son’s head and whispering something that drifted away just as Neji had started to regain consciousness, feeling the splurge of pain blossoming in his chest and abdomen as he tried to breathe once again.

 

                  He felt the blood run dry on the ground beneath him, looking up to see the griming nature of a fading war as the fighting had come to an end, a shadow of what was and what was now the future.

 

                  He had called out, groaning with agony and immediately saw familiar blurs of faces gathering above him, shouting at one another to do something, to get help, to call for Neji’s uncle. That was the same moment he had heard her voice among the others, ringing out to him as she called his name, over and over again. He could feel Lee’s grumbling tears splash against his skin as he stared up and looked around at the faces he could just barely make out. He felt hands on his body, releasing the shinobi vest and removing the wooden stakes that lay deep inside his torso, the pain making him drift in and out of awareness. The moment when he didn’t feel pain rushing into his body was when a palm rested against his cheek and when a hand had lifted his head off the ground before settling back onto the warming feeling of someone’s lap and just as his vision was becoming restored against the fogging mist, the first person he saw, the person who’s palm rested against his cheek, the person who had his head resting atop their lap, was her.

 

                  She had been the one to touch him, to take away the pain he felt coursing through his nerves like electricity as she used her laps to support his head, his eyes staring up at her as he desperately tried to see through the blurs, to see the same eyes that were always bright, no matter what the situation was, and to see her face, the face of a fearless woman as well as the face of his teammate and when he finally saw clearly, he only saw beauty through her tears of happiness. Though he had not seen her cry upon his death, he saw what he wanted to see. He saw those tears he had only seen once before when they were younger, now replaced with happiness upon his arrival back to life. She was speaking to the medical team around him, her palm never leaving his cheek.

 

                  It had been when she had looked down at him, when he had felt her tears slide down his cheeks, a small smile forming as she told him that he was going to be fine, that everything was okay that he realized he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her by his side, not as a teammate, but as something much more, something he could claim and someone he could love senselessly and without regret.

 

                  It had been then when he knew he needed to marry her.

 

                  Whatever impulse that guided him to that conclusion, he was forever grateful for. Maybe he had been delusional, confused by the pain surging in his bones, muscles, and organs as he was begin healed on the field that so many souls found themselves leaving their bodies upon. Perhaps he was still unsure of himself as he lay dying as he fought to continue to live on, blinking and angrily trying to see past the blurs that consumed his dazed vision as he stared upward, looking towards her face for guidance and for a hope to keep fighting on, to look onto the future when the pain was absent and when he was left with nothing but the start of a new life and a new chance to change his destiny.

 

                  As long as he lay cradled in her arms, with her smiling face looking down upon him, and as long as she had the bright look in her cedar eyes, he knew he would be fine, that his future was saved and there were no more consequences in being alive or being a slave to the side of the family he wasn’t destined to be born into.

 

                  If it hadn’t been for his leave of the earth and for his quick return back, then he wouldn’t have realized how much he truly did love her and how foolish he was to suppress those feelings up until his death. His last breath with the curse mark was also the beginning of a new dream and it was a dream he wanted to share with her, holding her beside him as they walked through the rest of their lives together, nestled in the company of each other for as long as the two of them lived.

 

                  That was his new dream.

 

 

 

 

 

                  Neji smirked at Shikamaru, the fire glowing softly in his eyes as he traced his thoughts back to the very moment in which he became a changed shinobi, a changed person, and a changed man.

 

                  “You know, you are correct once again. I really am I fool when it comes to human emotion, aren’t I?”

 

                  Lee snored loudly beside them before turning himself over to lay on his other side, his mouth a gap with a sliver of drool seeping down and out of his mouth, appearing more in a drunken state than in one of slumber and Neji couldn’t help but sigh with amusement and he heard Shikamaru do the same as he lay on the ground, the metal piercings drilled into his earlobes reflecting against the light given by the fire alone in the night.

 

                  “Shikamaru,” Neji said, starting again solemnly, but with a great ray of hope in his heart. “Earlier, you said that it was because I found someone that I loved that I was acting strange during the course of this mission. Well, I suppose there is no point in lying anymore.”

 

                  “Hm?” Shikamaru ceded slightly as he once again opened his eyes to look off to the side, only to see the direction in which Neji’s voice was coming from as the fire crackled once more.

 

                  “It took me a while to come to terms with it myself,” Neji responded softly, his own tone surprising him wearily. “I don’t think I ever knew what ‘love’ was because I never thought I would experience it for myself. I thought that it wasn’t something my destiny wanted me to have, even as my life hung on by a single thread and for a moment I was dead, it seems like it was that very concept of love that saved me and made me want to keep living. I was too independent and too rash to understand what was happened when I had woken up from being in the afterlife for only a few seconds. After two years of being alive once again, I thought long and hard about what my reason for living was and to my surprise, I found it.”

 

                  He paused.

 

                  “And that reason is Tenten.”


	11. Chapter 11

She hadn’t slept, not since that dream had been put to an end and she had found herself lying on the bitter chill of the absurdly cold concrete flooring, her cloak wrapped around her body like a blanket and her scrolls missing from her possession. To her, it felt like more than a week had passed her by, her patience growing imprudent as she waited for anything new to happen, even if it meant speaking to that bastard again and having him taunt her the way he did during their first meeting. Anything to appease her endless suffering against the hands of time would have been appreciated, no matter how angry or how irritated it made her feel. Waiting for something she did not expect was a pain separated from all other forms of agony.

 

            Aside from sleeping, she consumed nothing, for nothing was ever offered to her. The hunger had lasted for a while and the thirst was just starting to grow unbearable as her breathing became shallow, the air drying her throat more and more. She found comfort in breathing through her mouth as the smell of mildew encased within her prison was growing stronger. It felt better to taste something than to smell death itself.

 

            It was funny, how she never saw herself being in the situation she was currently in. Her own foolishness had left her aloof and her reasons for leaving the village and putting herself in danger had left her to her isolation, granting her with no excuse or alibi that would sway anyone, especially Neji. She knew that he would lecture her, scold her actions, tell her that she was being too risky and that she could’ve died or gotten hurt. He would stand there, arms folded over his chest as his eyes narrowed when he spoke to her, giving her an earful of things she already realized until she apologized and rolled her eyes. He would compare her to Lee and then he’d huff at the end of his lecture. Picturing him treating her like a child was an image that always made her crack a smile and, in this situation, she couldn’t help but let a smile creep across her lips the more she thought about him. Those smiles were always short-lived as the dread covered her like an impending storm, the memory of his death and the possibility of him being killed in the future. Seeing those nightmares replaying in her conscious and wakeful mind terrified her out of sleeping, no matter how heavy her eyelids felt or how many times she yawned into the beaten room.

 

            Perhaps it was the hunger that drove her to these mixed emotions and brittle thoughts that left her broken against the freezing floor of hard pavement. Usually, she could stay calm and keep her head on her shoulders with her thoughts at bay while her mind remained tame and focused. It was different now. There was no other person to make the plan and give her something to focus on. There was no teamwork, no reliance for help, just nothing to keep her sane anymore. For once, she could only give herself direction and right now, she had no inclination of where to begin.

 

            Each day, footsteps of heavy boots pounded down the hall, growing faint and becoming a siren for Tenten as they neared her door until they kept by, passing without muttering a word about her through the door or stopping outside just to make her hold her breath as she waited for them to enter. Thankfully, the sounds of heavy footsteps would grow faint once more as the distance between the individual and Tenten grew greater.

 

            Her wrists had grown red and worn as the ropes restraining her ankles and hands together had become tighter after her attempt to fight. How long ago, she dared not guess.

 

            She had stood after several frustrated attempts of holding her balance, jumping and throwing herself against the metal door, yelling and calling out to be released or to just get an answer of some kind, to hear the voice of another human. More importantly, she wanted it to be Neji on the other side of the door, coming to get her and take her back to the village after he and his team had been successful in assassinating the bastard in charge of this awful operation that only gained profit out of blackmailing young women into doing the bidding of man’s lust. To make matters much worse, Tenten was now going to be used as a means of escaping death for the leader as he would bargain her with the shinobi that are coming after him.

 

            Her empty stomach began to twist in a knot. If Neji and his team had complied with the rules of trading Tenten for the life of the person they were sent specifically to assassinate, then she would be the primary reason that they fail the mission and return back to the village to face the Hokage’s disappointment.

 

            The guilt was beginning to place a great burden on her, knowing that Neji would have to face failure because of her actions because she couldn’t wait for him to return to express how she felt about him, because she wanted to tell him her answer. He might start to reconsider his decision to marry her after this whole thing was over and done with.

 

            Tenten turned her body from her side position, craning her neck to look towards the molding door as the sound of the daily footsteps approached, starting within the shallows before bellowing onto the clinking of the floors, the soles heavy as they pounded steadily.

 

            She held her breath as they came to a stop right outside the door, the ringing emitting from the harsh stepping put to rest as a new sound echoed into her ears. The sound of the door being unlocked and opening with a creaking array of clanks and creaks that made Tenten twitch with slight annoyance.

 

            As the door opened, Tenten noticed right away that the man in charge of the operation was not standing there to once again greet her, but rather, it was another man who had a much broader and stiffer physique, his entire body clothed in thick black leather, leaving his abnormally large pupils to pulsate against the darkness he held in his gaze. He looked more like a demon from the depths of Hell than a human of any kind of evil nature and the first sight of him made Tenten squirm on the floor, the ropes once again eating her skin as her flesh started to turn raw.

 

            Her lips tried to release the words she wanted to say, but nothing came out other than a gasp as her throat had no kind of lubrication against it. She coughed as she tried to swallow, the dry feeling in her throat leaving her nothing but the pain given at the absence of thirst, allowing the man to approach her at his leisure, looking into her with those large eyes.

 

            She tried her best to look bigger, to appear stronger than he was in intimidating her. She glared up at him, her eyebrows narrowed as her eyes flickered with the fire embedded deep within her.

 

            The large man only let out a chilling laugh.

 

            His hand, covered in the black leather reached out, grabbing Tenten by her dirtied and tangled hair as he took a handful of her locks, pulling her up as she let out a groan of pain at the pulling of her scalp. He raised her to her knees, lowering his head to stare into her face, her eyes shining now with pain and defeat, forcing him to let out an even louder and much more bitter laugh than before.

 

            He enjoyed taunting her, watching her squirm beneath his inescapable grasp, the look in her eyes changing from a forced sense of courage to the look of defeat and terror. To put it simply, the man was nothing more than a sadist and the more noises she cried out, the more he would laugh and win his little game.

 

            She tried to bite her lip as he raised her a few more inches, pulling her as he started to turn and walk back towards the door, tugging her along the floor like a ragdoll, her hip sliding across the concrete as her tied wrist struggled against her back. Her body lurched with his movements as they exited her room, leaving her to see the hallway for the first time outside of her incoherent room.

           

It was just how she had pictured it. The entire hall was surrounded by doors equal in appearance to hers, closed and locked tightly against the metal walls. The entire building was made of metal and concrete and any sort of uncomfortable texture known to man, perhaps to intimidate the young girls they captured.

 

            Tenten tried to look and take in as much information as she could, the man dragging her behind him with her hair still bundled into his sweaty palm. She slid against the floor, her body firm as she tried to listen for any noises, see any disturbances or witness any information that would be useful in arresting the supporters after assassinating the leader.

 

            She heard whimpering coming from the rooms, scared and timid cries of pain and of sorrow belonging to female voices of different tones and pitches, some higher than others.

 

            The sounds were enough to make Tenten feel bile in her throat as her sympathy and pity for the young women locked behind those doors snapped her heart in two and made her want nothing more than to murder the leader herself. But she knew full and well that Neji and his team would be the ones to finish the job, not her.

 

            The hall must’ve been at least forty-five doors long on either side, the echoing sounds of her being dragged penetrating the awareness held inside the cells and silencing the voices to only a slight whimper, fearing that they too would be next.

 

            Tenten muttered nothing at all as the large man continued to lead her down the hall, her hands stopped as her flesh started to bleed slightly at the cutting they had done as she had tried to struggle free for more than several days now. She made no sounds even though the pain that was tugging at her scalp was becoming sore and awful by the second and she breathed slowly, trying to remain calm in a situation that had multiple turnouts and multiple failures.

           

            Unbeknown to her was when they had stopped, the tugging and pulling still going as she heard another piercing creak of the door that screamed behind her, making the man continue on with her dragging behind him, allowing her to watch the door shut the moment her legs and bound ankles had slid into the new environment.

 

            It was, to say reasonably, very different and abnormal from the previous environment she had been forced to stare aimlessly at for days on end. For starters, there was no trace of metal incarcerated flooring. A regal and glamorous pattern of royal carpet was what greeted her, red and gold ribbons instilled into the texture like a painting made by hand as they twisted around one another, the balance of the two colors extraordinary in appearance and alluring in satisfaction. The walls as well were not made of metallic material, but instead, a rich oak, the walls carved into designs unlike anything Tenten had ever experienced before and as she was flung around to face the other direction, she was greeted with much more significance than what the floor and wall had offered her.

 

            The desk, most likely carved from some pine of great quality, sat firmly against the carpet, the surface flashing its waxed finish in the reflection of the bright rays that shined down from the chandelier gleaming with diamond edges from the ceiling. The desk, much like the walls, was carved into the most regal of designs, as flowers twisted their stalks around one another just as the carver wanted them to do, encasing themselves within the prison of wood till the end of time.

           

Tenten didn’t have much time to observe the other royal characteristics the room had to offer, for, as soon as she looked to the left, a large door matching the material from the wall opened without a sound, as the man she had first met upon awakening in her darkening cell entered in, strolling as his hands and arms were occupied with large folders, the color of eggs harvested from well-fed chickens.

           

            He looked solemn but content as he hummed through the doorway, kicking the entrance behind him as a slam echoed throughout the room. He continued to hum his song as he approached the backend of the desk, dropping the folders down onto the surface before meeting his eyes with Tenten’s enlarged ones.

 

            “So, are we going to behave like a good girl or do I have to leave you in your ‘suite’ for another week?” he said with a humming chuckle.

 

            Tenten felt a growl suppress in her throat as she glared at him, never breaking the eye contact as she watched his movements, his fingers shuffling through the folders, placing some to the side while leaving some underneath the bottom. The way his hands organized through the stack of folders made Tenten ill, almost giving her an impending sense of dread as she saw that once he was finished, only three folders remained sitting closed atop his desk. Without waiting for her to answer, he took all but the three files from his desk and made his way forward, walking past Tenten who lay on the ground and towards the guard.

           

            “Take these and put them back where they were,” the man ordered calmly. “Leave us be.”

 

            The ogre that had hauled her down the hallway let her fall to the ground, no longer supporting her as she lay on her side, her wrists laying against the floor as the rope tightened around her flesh. She made a slight ‘thump’ as her body contacted the floor, leaving her to hold in her groan as the pain seared through her side and wrists, the impact forcing the ropes to eat more of her flesh. She was facing towards the desk, leaving her to only hear the large footsteps narrowly approach the door before taking their leave once more, the echoing becoming increasingly softer as the seconds ticked on freely, the rest of the folders cradled in his arms as he went to complete his order.

 

            The man had walked away as soon as the door closed behind the giant, returning to the safe area behind his desk as he spread out the three folders upon the surface, his eyes scanning each blank cover before a smirk crept across his pale lips. He then picked up the center folder, holding it up to where Tenten could see from her place on the ground, turning it back and forth in the grasp of his thin fingers, letting her see that it was just an ordinary folder on the outside no matter what direction it was facing her. Her eyes narrowed sharply as he brought the folder back down towards his level, opening it to only his viewing before the smile became sinister, growing like the reaper upon a genocide.

 

            “Well, out with it already!” Tenten barked, her voice doing its best to sound threatening despite the dryness in her throat.  Her fear was becoming overwhelming in the case of her annoyance and she felt his eyes scan her body once again before he opened his mouth to respond.

 

            “I like suspense, don’t you?” he muttered aloud. “It makes for a good plot in any story, no matter if it’s the beginning, middle, or close to the end. In your case, I would like to say that this suspense is going to occur in your final moments, Tenten.”

 

            She heard him flip through the contents held within the folder, praying that he would cut himself and feel even the tiniest bit of pain. There was no way she was capable of attacking him and both of them had known it from the minute she had been led in.  Her response was silence.

 

            “I believe you already know that I am aware of the whole assassination mission granted by the Leaf Village,” he continued on without hesitance. “Unless you have forgotten about our first conversation.”

 

            He came from around his desk, approaching Tenten as she lay still on the ground, pacing as his eyes scanned the folder’s pages until he stopped near the edge of the room and looked up to meet her impending stare as she waited for him to continue on.

 

            “It’s always good to know who your potential killers are,” he said as he paced once more around the surface area of the room. “That way you won’t have to spend the rest of your time in the afterlife plotting over who ended your days of living. That’s why I did some research on my potential assassins and I think you’ll like what you are about to hear.”

 

            “Tell me, do any of these names sound familiar to you? Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara, and… Neji Hyuuga?”

 

            Her expression remained blank as she forced her thoughts down, trying to keep the jolt of recognition locked away inside.

 

            “No clue.” She replied briskly.

 

            “Oh really? Because it says here that Rock Lee and Neji Hyuuga are assigned to the same team as you and that Shikamaru is a fellow academy student you graduated with.”

 

            She huffed slightly in frustration.

 

            “But maybe this information is wrong, “he responded, the teasing in his voice causing Tenten’s blood to boil harshly as she tried to remain as neutral and as numb as possible. Trying to remain calm was becoming a tedious task for her and his impending tone was not making it any easier.

 

            “Maybe it is,” she retorted, the irritation becoming visible in her tone as she continued to glare at the man, watching as he once again flipped a page over to scan another and then another, until finally, he stopped and grinned wider.

 

            “I don’t believe it is. Tell me, were you aware that Neji Hyuuga has approached his time for marriage?”

 

            She stilled.

 

            “Because it says here that he has picked a wife and it’s you.”

 

            “There’s no way you can prove that’s true!” she shouted. “Besides, it isn’t possible that you could’ve gotten this much information in such a short amount of time.”

 

            “My men are very good at doing what I ask of them,” he replied calmly. “There have already been too many attempts to end my life and destroy my business. I can’t take any risks, especially since I am dealing with a member of one of the most prestigious clans to ever exist in this case.”

 

            The pages flipped over to their original position and he closed the folder, throwing it back on his desk as he sighed, running his nimble fingers through his elongated hairline. His eyes faltered, and his gaze once again seeped into Tenten as he saw her, vulnerable and trying to appear brave despite the circumstance.

 

            “This may be easier than I thought,” he said aloud, chuckling underneath his drunken breath.

 

            “It’s a lucky break for me in knowing that you two are little love birds. Hell, this might be the easiest escape I have ever had to plan out!”

            He laughed sharply into the air, his voice plunging like an echo that made Tenten cringe slightly in disgust and discomfort.

 

            “What luck, what luck,” he muttered, stalking back towards Tenten’s lying frame, stooping down into a squat next to her, his elbows held up against his jutted knees as he leaned down slightly, much closer to her face than to her chest like he had upon their first meeting.

 

            “It will be so much fun to play with his little fiancé,” he cooed as he took a hand and placed it on Tenten’s reddened cheek, stroking his thumb against her warm skin as she squirmed. It felt horrible knowing that she was at the mercy of such a man, a man with a name she was unsure of. If there was anything Tenten hated more than Lee and her sensei’s endless and rather ridiculous training, it was the feeling of her having to depend on another person to save her, particularly if that person was Neji. Indeed, it was always him protecting her, defending her from certain death or injury, and when it wasn’t him it was Lee. It wasn’t until she had gotten captured that she realized how defenseless she was, how incompetent her skills were as her tools were gone. If Neji were in this situation, he could still use his eyes to find a way out and save himself and even Lee could manage to find an escape route.

 

            Her nose scrunched up with disgust as the man continued to stroke her cheek, the lust in his eyes becoming overbearing to sink into, forcing Tenten to tightly close her eyes to avoid his impending gaze.

 

            “Now that I have you,” he said without a shift in his look. “I will explain the plan to you. Listen closely, babe.”

 

            His thumb had stopped stroking her cheek and shifting down to cup her jaw in his hands, his fingers massaging the bone as she was forced to look at his face.

 

            “I am going to bargain with your fiancé and his team of shinobi. In exchange for your life, I will also be saved, granted that he makes the right decision. Then again, if someone of such nobility can care for someone with your background, then I’m sure the fellow is desperately in love with you.”

 

            Tenten felt the heat softly flood into her cheeks.

 

            _Damn it!_ She thought as she clenched her jaw. _Putting my life in Neji’s hands in exchange for your own pathetic and rather inexcusable way of life is the coward’s way out of things. Still, even if I do have to rely on Neji, there must be something that I can do._

_I could attempt to kill him himself, wait, no, if I were to do that I would get in even more trouble. I can already sense Kakashi’s disappointment in me for running off with no true motive. On top of that, Neji would scold me and demand to know why I went off on my own to join in on the S-ranked mission._

“Hey, are you listening to me?”

 

            She gasped slightly as she felt his hand strike her cheek, the same side he had rubbed and stroked against early. She hadn’t noticed the way the tips of his fingers had slid to hold her head underneath her chin as he used the other to deliver a powerful blow.

 

            It stung and boiled with blood as she felt the shape of a rutted handprint form on the side of her face. He dropped her, her head hitting the ground as her darkening strands fell over her like a curtain of despair. She raised to look up at him, some of her locks sticking to the side of her face and over her slightly sweat-induced skin on her forehead.

 

            He had stood and made his way back to the front of his desk, turning back towards her lowered frame as he leaned himself against the wood, looking at her with admiration as a child would at a lonely toy just wanting to be played with.

 

            “Based upon what I know from my intel,” he said as he fetched his words once more. “The group of shinobi and your humble fiancé are close to this base. We will wait for them to come closer and then the plan will commence. If you so much as disobey my orders, I will do the things I do to all the pretty women, this time, it won’t be just you and I. Neji will have a front row seat as well. His manly pride might as well be overtaken as he sees you and I-.”

 

            “Shut the hell up!” Tenten yelled as she found her voice. Her eyebrows narrowed into a glare as her loose hair encircled her, the shadows under her hooded eyes veiling redemption and hatred.

 

            “You may have all of this information on Neji and the team that’s coming to get you, but you don’t know a single thing about Neji as a human! For starters, do you honestly think you can get to him that easily? Do you think your pitiful and cliché threats frighten me? Because they don’t. You don’t scare me and you sure as hell won’t scare Neji. You talk all big about ‘manly pride’, and yet here you are, standing before me talking as if you have some! Neji is more of a man than you could ever dream to be.”

 

            She saw the man’s jaw become tense underneath his aftershave.

 

            She wanted to push him more, to see him break under her harsh words to prove how much of a coward he was. This entire time, she wanted nothing more than to end his life herself, his talk just becoming an annoyance to her.  She yearned for him to get angry, to feel opposed in her presence. She didn’t care if he slapped her again. She would make him shrink back to his place with whatever she could.

 

            Instead, he approached her, crouching back beside her without mumbling a single word to her in response. His palm reached out and pushed against her shoulder, forcing her to lean back until her back was against the floor. She stared at him, ready for the strike to come, for her to groan in pain.

 

            It never came.

 

            He looked at her, the rage covered by a sheer screen of desire as he pushed her hair away from her torso, his eyes looking hungrily at her breasts.

 

            She gasped in surprise as his hands touched them, his fingers wrapping tightly around each one as he started to fondle them, a smile stretching across his face as saw her cheeks flush a deep red and her head turn off to the side as her eyes remained tightly shut, her legs rubbing against each other as she squirmed at his mercy.

 

            “Don’t tell me that Neji has never done anything like this to you before.” He sneered as he squeezed harder, the red in her cheeks darkening.

 

            “Neji- “she choked out before opening her eyes narrowly. “Has more class than you do, dipshit!”

 

            At once he stopped, took his hands off of her and stood, turning away without so much a sound as he faced away from her, leaning forward onto his desk with his palms resting on the wood, his face twisted with irritation.

 

            “It is taking every ounce of my being to not make you regret those words,” he growled underneath his breath.

 

            He turned his head towards her slightly, a small and rather ugly smirk appearing on his lips once again.

 

            “I’ll wait to make you sorry until tomorrow. That way Neji can watch me beat the shit out of you.”

 

            With that threat in mind, the door opened behind Tenten. The ogre that had dragged her away earlier approached from behind and once more clutched her hair into a ball of tangles, hoisting her off the ground as she groaned slightly.

 

            “Take her back to her cell,” the man ordered, “We will retrieve her tomorrow when the time comes.”

 

            The ogre that was a bodyguard said nothing as Tenten felt herself being dragged away, back through the door she had entered only minutes before, her hip sliding against the surface.

 

            _You can’t get your way,_ she thought bitterly with a triumphant grin. _And if Neji doesn’t beat the shit out of you, then you can bet that I will, regardless if I have weapons or not._

            She watched as the door became smaller as she was dragged away, looking into the crack that was becoming narrower at a slow pace, the yellowing light shining through and into her eyes.

 

            The door had finally slammed shut and the light was turned off.

 


	12. Chapter 12

It was pulsating deep inside his chest as they jumped from the darkened branches of the towering willows, his heart beating like a throbbing wound as he pursued forward. The veins around his eyes on the same sides of his temples were visible as they swelled against his skin, a shadow of a narrowed glance penetrating his gaze as he stared only forward, his vision consumed by dim shades of white and gray. It felt just as every mission felt, with his eyes serving as an advantage as they traveled throughout the forest full of the unknown.

 

            But it was odd. Something was burning deep within him, a feeling Neji couldn’t understand to the best of his abilities despite feeling the familiarity of the antagonizing thoughts. It was the same gut-wrenching feeling he had whenever he knew there was something off, something almost worrisome. It wasn’t the anxiety itself that worried him the most; it was who it was about that made him neurotic.

 

            Whilst his heart was already pounding before his team had begun their trek towards the suspected base of their target, it was getting worse, much worse with the introduction of leaping through the narrowing trees at a speed only Rock Lee could ever want to have.

 

            This time it was Neji that decided to go at a much quicker pace.

 

            There had to be a reason for it. There had to be just a false association he was having with the mission he was given. He never considered himself to overreact at such emotions, and yet, this time, the impending dread that echoed throughout his body was becoming a wave of pseudo contractions, forcing him to lose focus from time and time again as he surveyed ahead of his team.

 

            Words were seldom passed between the three of them as Neji remained focused, not looking at either of his teammates as they traveled just a few feet behind him on the sidelines. Lee, sensing the atmosphere for once, kept his mouth shut and focused upon each successful jump and land he managed. He had noticed a change in Neji’s demeanor and while he wanted to know if his suspicions were true, he also knew that Neji, even if the assumptions were accurate, wouldn’t tell him the entire story. That, and it felt extremely abnormal to not have their other team member accompany them on this mission, acting as the straight man that sorted out arguments and debates and was, in a way, a comic relief when things become sticky and fragile. It didn’t feel normal to him without Tenten.

 

            And he was beginning to think that it was the same for Neji.

 

            It wasn’t until Shikamaru had stopped on an outstretched branch before the two others landed as well, turning to look at him.

 

            “What is it, Shikamaru?” Lee posed after a long break of silence.

 

            Shikamaru leaned against the tree’s bark, looking off to the side in the same direction Neji had been surveying. He looked to be deep in thought, his eyes narrowing slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest, his concentration consuming all areas of his expression.

 

            The veins that pulsated slightly around Neji’s eyes faded as he too waited for an explanation, knowing that the reason for the abrupt stop was to discuss the plan, something they hadn’t spoken of until now.

 

            “I think I know how we are going to deal with him.” Shikamaru declared steadily.

 

            Neji and Lee stood silently on their separate branches.

 

            “This man,” Shikamaru continued, resting his eyes for a moment as he turned his chin to face downward. “Is not someone to take lightly. I did as much research as I could on him and it seemed like my assumptions were correct. We mustn’t anger him in any way.”

 

            “But we are to assassinate him, are we not? Doesn’t that mean we attack unknowingly?” Lee questioned blindly.

 

            “Yes, however, this guy is not alone. Chances are that he has close to fifty men backing him up and it seems likely that he already knows that we are approaching his hideout.”

 

            Neji turned his head to look off into the distance.

 

            “Yes, it seems you are correct,” he said as the veins once again appeared beside his eyes, the iris within becoming slightly outlined as the byakugon was activated. “It looks like there are several of them outside of his hideout. They all seem to be intent on shedding blood; we mustn’t let our guard down.”

 

            Lee nodded, raising his clenched fists into the air. “We shall prevail with guts!” he exclaimed into the wind, only to receive a slight smirk from Shikamaru.

 

            “Not just that,” he responded as his eyes opened once again to look at his teammates. “We will have to assign roles. Lee and I will take on his bodyguards since Neji is capable of stunning the target with only a few disruptions to his chakra points-.”

 

            “Does this mean that-?” Lee began to ask as he lowered his fists back to his sides.

 

            “Yes,” Shikamaru responded with a hint of defeat in his tone. “He is capable of using ninjutsu. The only problem is that no one knows what he is capable of. Everyone who has been assigned to take him out was either killed if they were men or captured if they were women. I’m surprised that there was any information on him at all.”

 

            “What are we to do about the captives?” Neji inquired calmly.

 

            “Don’t worry about that,” Shikamaru said as he raised his head up to reach towards the chest pocket of his vest, pulling out what appeared to be a button. The red orb was held into a small case made of glass, preventing the chances of accidentally being activated when preparations were far from being ready. Shikamaru then flipped open the glass case, revealing the button to both Neji and Lee.

 

            “Kakashi gave this to me. Whenever we feel ready, I will push the button and the reinforcements from the village will instantly be drawn to our location. Not only will they be able to arrest the followers but they are also sending in backup to free the captives and give them medical attention before escorting them back to their village.”

 

            “That’s amazing!” Lee admired as he gazed at the shine the button was providing. At that moment, Shikamaru looked at Neji and Lee, his eyes narrowed at them as his thumb hovered over the button.

 

            “Are you two ready to get this mission done and over with?”

 

            Neji looked at Lee before they both shared a nod.

 

            And with that, the signal was sent.

 

………………………………………………………………………….

 

            A clock ticked away, echoing in her mind like rain in a storm drain as she tried to compensate for the heaving anxiety that was plunging into her lungs and abdomen. How much time had passed was once again an unanswered question as she lay on her side once more at the mercy of her cell, the scent of mildew becoming numb as she breathed in the dampness within the air. She felt fear, not for the moment itself but for seeing his face for the first time since she ran off, unsure of herself and how to tell him what her answer was and how she felt. That memory was beginning to feel like a haze as the hunger gripped her torso and her tangling hair stuck to her sweat that rested against her skin.

 

            It had been a battle won against all odds as she fought off the urge to sleep for the first time in what felt like forever. Indeed, she had rested her eyes for brief moments, knowing well that her sanity depended on what little rest she could provide for her body and mind. Not enough time would pass as she closed her eyes and opened them again after what felt like hours, but had really only been mere minutes, the musk in the cell drowning her in its greasy textures.

 

            She saw him, looking down at her in disgust and with disappointment, with Lee having an aloof expression as Shikamaru commented over “what a drag” their current situation was. The guilt was consuming her as she saw his eyes, the pale lavender engulfing her in his stare as he wanted nothing more than to tell her what a fool she had been to do such a stupid action. She would be the reason the mission failed and why Neji would have to endure the shame of that same failure.

 

            That was the logic that had contributed to her misery over the last few hours of solitude, penetrating her mind while damaging her heart and pride as someone who worked hard to serve the same village and to aid in saving the same civilians. There were so many things she couldn’t do that most others could, leaving her with just a mere skill that involved summoning weapons that didn’t win her any battles. This situation was adding to her feeling of uselessness as she had to come to terms with the idea that she had to once again be saved by Neji, a chore she was sure he had grown restless of.

 

            She couldn’t help but wonder if he knew that she had been captured by the group they were trying to dispose of so earnestly. Perhaps if he did, then maybe he wouldn’t be so upset with her after the bargain had been placed. Then again, she wanted him to do what was right, not for her sake, but for the village’s sake and for all of the young women that had been threatened into becoming prisoners to prostitution.

 

            Her chest heaved as she let out a narrow sigh, the moisture that hung in the air clinging to her exhale like a spider to its smooth threads encased into the shape of a knitted web. The wait was as painful as the ropes that bound her wrists and ankles together in a firm grasp. Her breasts ached from his harsh handling and she had been almost positive in that he had bruised her skin from his harsh grip.

 

            It felt as though the day would never break.

 

            Her thoughts felt as thick as paste, sticking to her mind as the silence continued on in her cell and in the halls, the echoing of the heavy boots ceasing for the first time in a week.

 

            From the time when she had been placed back into her cell, she started to hear sounds she wanted nothing more than to block out from her consciousness as she lay there helpless. Someone was getting beaten, someone was getting harassed, and someone was getting sexually abused. It went on and on throughout the evening and the whimpering cries that started to scream out into the halls made Tenten shiver with uncertainty and guilt.

 

            She wanted nothing more than to see the light given by the sun in the early parts of the morning and to feel the humble autumn winds blow against her skin that lay bare to the outside world. More importantly, she wanted to take a shower and cleanse herself of this awful experience that had gone wrong upon her control. She wanted to feel the soft warmth her bed provided and to, of course, get some water and food.

 

            Her body felt drained as her mind started to drift into new parts that lay undiscovered, the majority of which were of Neji. It wasn’t just the memories that flooded to and fro, there were fantasies and outcomes replaying over in her head, a film with no definite ending and no promise of fulfillment on her part. She remembered how he felt as she sobbed into him, how the warmth had blocked out the bitter cold that had frozen her heart. The safety that he provided just in his embrace was more than enough to make her want to fall asleep and never wake up if she would be assured in knowing that he would always be there.

 

            If she wasn’t in such faulty conditions she was sure she would’ve laughed at herself for thinking such feministic things. However, in a place of isolation and of dread, she couldn’t laugh or smile as she thought of him, because the guilt became a tight bag she found herself stuffed away in, the zipper jammed on the outside, preventing her from escaping as her breath started to falter. She had blamed the omens the nightmares provided, the memories she wanted to forget about, and the way she felt as though it was her fault that he suffered from such pain.

 

            “Neji…” Tenten whispered as her eyelids felt like anchors, weighed down by her fatigue as a thin layer of shadows started to appear as her eyes began to close.

 

            _Don’t come here. Don’t choose to save me and to fail your mission. Someone like me who did so many terrible things to you doesn’t deserve to be saved. This is the punishment I was meant to receive._

            She nearly jumped and shivered as the door was unlocked without further warning, slamming open as thin steps trailed in.

 

            She recognized those steps.

 

            Her body lay away from the door, unmoving and still as the intruder approached her from the side, placing a warm hand against her shoulder and stroking the goosebumps that appeared on her arm.

 

            “Tenten,” the voice said sweetly.

 

            She narrowed her eyes as her irises, dark and misty, looked towards him, her eyebrows lay downcast as she shot him a weak glare.

 

            To him, the eyes didn’t show bravery or even confidence. To him, those were the eyes of defeat, the expression that meant he had won and she was under him, that she would no longer pose as a threat.

 

            He couldn’t help but grin as the smell of heavy alcohol made Tenten make a face of disgust and rage.

 

            He continued to stroke her skin, moving his hand down to trace the perimeter of her waist, past the belted corset that kept her scrolls close behind her, down to her hips, and then to her thighs, feeling the fishnet leggings she wore as she once again began to squirm slightly.

 

            With his hand still placed against her thigh, he held the same smile, crouching down closer, his breath a thick fog as he neared her ear.

 

            “Let’s go see your fiancé.” He whispered, removing his hand to grab a handful of her tangled hair in his grasp as he forced her to sit up as he stood, pulling at her scalp as he began to drag her out of that isolated cell and through the hallway where the screams continued to echo and the cries for aid pretended not to be heard.

 

            The door to isolation was finally slammed shut.

 

……………………………………………………………………

 

            It was blinding to see the sun shining into her eyes for the first time in the days she spent in darkness, alone and cold as warmth escaped her body and entangled itself into the mold hidden within the air. It took her eyes to adapt to the sudden introduction of the outside world and for her lungs to realize that she was free from the heaviness of the fog that had surrounded her as she had tried to rest. Though it was painful to see the world once again, it was a blessing she was truly grateful for, the sound of the wind ruffling her freed locks gently against her back, kissing her cheeks as they warmed from the light.

 

            While he still dragged her along the dirt path that lay in the forest, there was a feeling within her that made her almost want to smile because she knew that within a few moments she would see him again, a face that was alive with a body that had healed after a dive into the afterlife.

 

            That desire to feel the last ounce of happiness she had soon faded as she felt the pressure against her scalp tighten as she was thrown forward, her back hitting the hardening bark of an oak, her tied ankles and wrists starting to burn as the intensity of the impact caused her to move out of instinct to protect herself. She landed hard with a gasp escaping from her lips before he was once again before her, clouding her vision of the beauty offered from the world she had missed for so long. He was as he kneeled down to look into her face, the slight bruise on her cheek becoming visible with the light that cascaded down from the gaps between the remaining leaves up above.

 

            His boney fingers reached towards his leg, slipping into his pocket to pull out a rag. He held it in front of him, twisting it slightly before slipping it over her mouth, between her parted lips as he tied it around her head firmly.

 

            She made not a sound as she stared into his eyes, waiting for him to mock her of her vulnerability.

 

            He did no such thing.

 

            Instead, he gave her one last smile before he stood, reaching behind the tree Tenten was firmly held against to grab the cloak she had worn the night she had fled from the village, throwing it over her, blinding her once again with the darkness as she fidgeted slightly.

 

            “Don’t worry, Tenten,” she heard his voice coo from above. “I’ll let you be known soon. I just don’t want this negotiation to be biased before it even started.”

 

            She heard the same heavy footsteps that had walked down the bleak corridor surround her at a distance. Her hope of escaping unknowingly was killed by the sound of her being guarded on all sides and in all directions.

 

            Her eyes began to close, softly as she relaxed her jaw, letting her chin rest above her sternum before a single tear fell down, rolling down her cheek before fleeing from her chin and landing on the ground beside her.

 

            _Neji._

……………………………………………………………………………

 

            His body grew stiff as he crouched beneath a veil of Auburn and golden leaves, hiding from the light as he sought comfort within the shadows.

 

            He waited, his patience glowering as the feelings of dread boiled within him, making him agitated with avoiding to strike without the notion of the signal. It had grown inside of him ever since Shikamaru had sent out the signal and he still had not a thought as to why it had gotten so powerful since they had started to approach the hideout.

 

            Neji kept it down as best he could, turning his gaze to look at Shikamaru who was several branches away from him. His fingers were held together, over his concentrating expression as a shadow started to stretch from beneath his lowered figure, lying in wait until the time was right.

 

            Shikamaru looked toward Neji who gave him a nod in response before turning to the other side to check on Lee. When Lee saw both looking towards him, he gave a curt nod, facing his attention back below himself.

 

            Just as Shikamaru was about to unleash his shadow attack and Neji was about to activate his byakugon, they were halted as a voice boomed through their hiding places.

 

            “Not so fast boys.”

 

            Shikamaru, with his shadow still withstanding below him, looked at Neji with a troubled expression before he saw Neji look the same.

 

            “Yes, yes, I know you are here. Actually, there is someone I wish to speak with. Mr. Hyuga, could you please come out from hiding. Don’t worry, I have no weapons, nor do I plan on attacking you. I have my men held back. I just want to discuss a deal with you.”

 

            Neji felt his heart beat slightly faster than normal. He shifted his gaze to Shikamaru who only nodded. Lee watched dumbfoundedly as Neji arose, moving the branch that had been his safe haven as he stepped forward, walking towards the end of the branch as the patches of sunlight fell across his face. The man below him, the man he was meant to eliminate, looked up towards him, a smile pressed firmly against his lips at the arrival of Neji.

 

            “Ah, good, do me a favor and make sure your two other teammates stay back. I wouldn’t want you to force me to get rid of the offer I have for you before you even realize what it is.” He sneered defiantly.

 

            Neji turned and without muttering a world, held his hand up. Lee and Shikamaru nodded, relaxing slightly in their places as they watched Neji’s hand go down.

 

            “Well done. This may be easier than expected.” The man said sarcastically.

 

            Neji saw the raised cloak lay against the tree behind the man. The leader’s smile grew wider.

 

            “I see you are interested in what is under the cloak.” He smirked underneath his breath. “Well, you’ll have to be patient for a little longer.”

 

            “What kind of deal are you offering me?” Neji said with a closed-off demeanor, his eyes lowering into a glare as his body stayed stiff and ready to guard himself in case the promise was broken off.

 

            “What I am offering,” the leader said as he turned to stand closer to the cloak lying against the tree. “Is for my freedom.”

 

            Neji heard Lee ruffle behind him impatiently.

 

            “Why should I let you go?” Neji asked, his arms folded across his chest. “If I was sent here to kill you, then why would I let you live and allow your crimes to go without justice?”

 

            The man laughed.

 

            “You’re so predictable, Mr. Hyuga. You see, I’d figured you’d say something like that and that is why I want to show you what I want to give you.”

 

            The man grabbed the cloak from above, not taking his eyes off of Neji’s glare.

 

            “One of us will die here, Neji. It will either be me or her.”

 

            With one swift tug, he yanked the cloak off and threw it to the side, revealing the “offer” he was promising.

 

            Neji felt his heart pound against his chest as his eyes widened slightly. He stared down at her as she opened her eyes and looked up towards him, her eyes widening as she saw his face.

 

            The man saw a slight change in Neji’s expression, as his eyes had narrowed for a moment and his mouth opened slightly to gasp quietly to himself.

 

            “Tenten,” Neji whispered, his eyes surveying the damage done to her from where he stood from above. She said nothing, for the gag in her mouth prevented her from calling out to him.

 

            He felt the anger began to rise slowly from within his chest as he attempted to suppress it with an unfeeling expression.

 

            “Aw, what a cute face, don’t you think so, Neji?”

 

            Neji watched as the man leaned down to stroke Tenten’s bruised cheek, brushing away the strands of hair that stuck to her skin.

 

            “It would really be a shame for it to be beaten until she was unrecognizable.”

 

            “That’s enough! You will stop touching her from here on out. We have made no agreements yet.”

 

            The man turned to look at Neji’s expression that was growing slightly irritated the more he touched Tenten. He held out his palm to one of the large men that surrounded him and Tenten, the guard placing a knife into the leader’s hand.

 

            “You’re right, Mr. Hyuga. We haven’t made any agreements yet. But when your life is hanging by a thread, you tend to grow _impatient_.”

           

            He flipped the knife around in his grasp as he raised it, pointing it towards Tenten.

 

            “Stop! Whatever you are doing-!”

 

            Tenten’s eyes grew wide as the knife cut down from the clothing that rested against her neck and past her chest, revealing the bruises that rested against her breast from the man’s harassment. It had spread only a portion of her cleavage, but it was enough to see what he was meaning to taunt Neji with.

 

 

            “Neji, calm down,” Shikamaru whispered within the leaves as he saw Neji begin to shake slightly, his fist clenched down at his side, his fingers squeezing into the flesh of his palm. It didn’t feel normal to be telling the calmest one of the group, aside from himself, to remain their composure.

 

            _This isn’t good,_ Shikamaru thought as he observed Neji carefully. _I have never seen Neji look so angry before. It may not be entirely written on his face but the way his body is reacting is the result of full-blown rage. The last thing we need is for Neji to lose it._

Lee sat still and unlike Neji, the rage he felt for the harsh treatment of his teammate was plastered in his narrowing eyes with his thick eyebrows glowering over them, his jaw locked with his teeth holding back a retort as he clenched them.

 

            _Neji, please, we have to save Tenten! Mission or not, our comrade is more important!_

…………………………………………………………..

            Her heart was pounding against her exposed chest as she continued to look towards Neji for some kind of comfort, for some indication that he felt something, anything at this point. She had whimpered when the knife split open the clothing and bindings that covered her chest, the blood rushing up to her cheeks as the embarrassment and humiliation shined the spotlight on her.

 

            His expression had been so difficult to read and decipher that the fear in her grew steadily. Even if she were to die here, in front of him and in front of her two other friends, she would not fear death itself nor Neji’s response because at least she would be able to tell him that-.

 

            Tenten shifted her legs beneath her as she attempted to cover up the last bit of modesty she had, only to have the man’s hand push them back down, the pressure forcing her to expose herself even more as she tried to clear her head by avoiding Neji’s stare, assuming what he thought of her.

 

            She looked towards the ground and saw nothing other than what reminded her of herself: dirty and unfit to be loved at this point. Slowly, her eyes started to close as she felt the man stroke the top of her head gently. He was saying something to Neji but she wasn’t listening. Her ears were clogged with the sound of the ocean and her vision was beginning to blur, her weakening physique starting to take its toll on her.

 

            Within a few seconds, Tenten felt herself slip away, the darkness consuming her as she faded off into an unconscious state, dissolving from reality as Neji watched, the blood seeping through the gaps of his fingers and palms of his clenching fist, dripping onto the wood where he stood.

 

            “Get your hands off of her! If you want to make the deal, then you will cease from touching her!” Neji commanded harshly.

 

            “Oh, so you’ve made up your mind then?” the man said as he turned and walked closer underneath Neji’s branch.

 

           

 

            “Well, what’s it gonna be, Mr. Hyuga?”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the weird change in the font. I tried everything to get it to be consistent and trust me, it bothers me too. But I simply do not want to waste time in re-typing this entire scene out so please forgive me.

 

He had known what his decision would be far before he was asked for the final time to decide. There was not a doubt in his character that would flaw him in saving a comrade, a teammate, and a person that he dared say he loved. She had already been tampered with and his torso began to tighten with the suppressed anger that squeezed his chest and made his scars ache.

 

            She avoided his gaze, looking only off to the side as the grass danced softly with the autumn wind. Though her expression was solid, he saw the fear reflect drearily in her soft eyes that were beginning to water with tears that refused to spill.

 

            He felt Lee fidget behind him in the forage, trying to hold himself down at Neji’s discretion and at Shikamaru’s subdued glare as he thought of a plan to rescue Tenten. He knew he couldn’t stall Neji for long, especially after seeing the trembling his clenched fist made at his side as he attempted to show no signs of aggression or rage. Shikamaru, despite knowing Neji for all these years, had never seen him try so hard to swallow his emotions and to keep calm.

 

            _He must really love her._

            Other than trying to hold Neji still, Lee was becoming another issue. Shikamaru had noticed how his teeth clenched and how he was shaking with vexation at his battered teammate that lay down below. It wouldn’t be long until Lee would burst out and take on all those men on his own.

 

            Shikamaru’s eyes widened as the plan became clear to him and he let a small smirk show on his face as he kept his hands in the enclosed signature of summoning his shadows. Lee had noticed this change in his demeanor and glanced over at him as Shikamaru nodded at him.

 

            “Follow my lead,” he whispered under a hushed breath.

 

Lee nodded and the pair went in opposite directions, circling the area whilst hidden in the trees, allowing only Neji to hear their movements as they split up, going closer to where Tenten lay underneath the withering flora, their steps mere shadows that lay unseen.

 

            To his relief, it seemed that Neji was the only one aware of the new plan of action and he knew what he had to do himself.

 

            He had to stall a little longer.

 

            Neji locked his gaze on the man below, his arms outstretch as if he would catch Neji and embrace him like a long-lost friend.

 

            _You disgust me._

            Without looking at Tenten, Neji directed his voice towards the man, trying to find the right words to say as he stalled the leader from noticing his two other teammates that had changed their locations and were now making their way towards Tenten from above.

 

            It was time for answers.

 

            “Before we make this deal official,” he spoke carefully, his eye contact locked on the man. “I want you to answer some questions for me.”

 

            He saw the man’s smile twitch in irritation.

 

“Are you trying to stall me, Mr. Hyuuga?” he sneered mincingly.

 

            “Not at all. In fact, I will go ahead and tell you about my decision. I am going to save Tenten in exchange for your life. Just answer some questions for me and you shall be let go.”

 

            He saw the leader’s muscles relax as the tension dissolved and hopefully, as did the suspicion of the two other shinobi’s movements.

 

            “Alright, go on.”

 

            Neji flashed a glance at Tenten who was once again avoiding his gaze. She looked a little relieved but still frazzled, her hair in tangles with rips and tears in her clothing and dirt that smeared across her skin like discarded and dried paint.

 

            It pained him that he was oblivious to her being held captive and enduring such conditions while he continued on this mission like it was nothing. That feeling he had held in his chest was a warning and he had tried to suppress it the best he could, simply by ignoring it, pretending as if it didn’t exist.

 

            And he wasn’t afraid to admit that he was at fault for doing so.

 

            “My first question,” he began with a steady breath. “Is your name. What are you called by?”

 

            The man said nothing at first, appearing as though he was contemplating and deciding on a proper name for himself. Until he finally shook his head.

 

               “I have no name. My boys call me Yokubō while the pretty young ladies greet me by the name of ‘master’. Whatever name I had before is gone. There is no documentation of my past records or my childhood. I’m sure you have figured that out by now by looking through my bland file.”

                Lee and Shikamaru now stood at the half-way point, facing each other among the branches of falling leaves as they continued to softly make their way to meet up again behind Tenten. It was growing tedious, as the guards were becoming a bit finicky in looking around at each corner to see if anything was out of the ordinary. For such dimwitted beings they sure were devoted to protecting their leader with everything they had.       

          Still, they had a good chance of succeeding in the plan. Just as long as Neji kept stalling and the leader was occupied with questions, they had the opportunity of saving Tenten and completing the mission.  

              Shikamaru continued to move along the branches as Lee jumped and landed as quiet as a lingering apparition, both weary to only move when there was no silence that lingered in the breeze.        

         Neji had nodded at the response, careful to not give the man any satisfaction. His pride was already overwhelming enough as it was.   

             “I can see why they call you by such a name. It is rather suiting for someone of your… profession. Which brings me to my second question: why are you capturing young women and forcing them to do shameful acts?”               

             “’ Shameful’ you say!”       

         The man began to laugh once again, this time there was greed in his bellowing at such a statement, almost as if he had been playing with Neji all along.     

            “I do it because I am able to,” he continued as his laughter ceased. “Women are nothing more than objects, Mr. Hyuuga. They were created to serve men and only men. That is why they are limited. It is because they were created from us and are therefore obligated to serve us,”      

        Tenten felt the indignation rise in her chest as she listened to his philosophy, carefully drawn into the paradox he was trying to get at as it made her skin crawl while the thoughts of beating him to the death filled her mind lucidly. She watched Neji from a distance, checking to see his facial expression through the gleam of the sunlight that filtered through the pattern of leaves from above in the canopies.         

        Lee and Shikamaru moved in closer until they were mere inches apart from one another, resting in a squatting position as Shikamaru held his fingers and hands in the sign for his shadow summoning, waiting until the moment was right to gather the silhouetted figures.

 

           “We as men are not entitled to allow them to do as they please nor as they wish. Whatever wants or desires they hide have been overshadowed by our influence. That is why I do this. I do it because I know that I can manipulate and blackmail any woman into doing what I ask because they are foolish. I’m sure you would agree, wouldn’t you, Mr. Hyuga?”

           "I can't say I agree with your reasoning," Neji sighed. "Because there is someone who taught me that gender doesn't matter on the battlefield or in this case, being obligated to serve someone else."

           He saw in the corner of his eye Tenten look up at him, eyes gleaming, not with tears, but with utter happiness and he couldn't help but give her a small smile in return, seeing how much joy it brought her for him to say that.

           "Isn't that sweet, Tenten?" the man cooed as he turned to face her from the side. "Your fiance really believes in such an obstinate ideology!"

             Neji clenched his fist harder, digging his nails into his palm.

              _So, he knows about the proposal._

            Shikamaru lay silent as he concentrated with Lee on the other side of him, watching intently as a shadow began to stretch out from underneath Shikamaru's position, slowly creeping over the bark of a thick branch as it slithered its way down, swirling and curving as it approached Tenten's tied limbs. It was like a darkened thread, gently wavering its way out of eyesight while still being in the correct position to drink in the sunlight.

            Tenten had felt the shadow almost at once when the tightening of the rope that bound her wrists and ankles started to loosen, her flesh breathing in the new air as the knots were being undone. She kept quiet, the gag still holding her voice back deep into her throat as she breathed softly, waiting for the shadow to free her.

            "You know, Mr. Hyuga, I would've never suspected you of all men to be such a softy! Considering that you were a caged bird not too long ago."

            Neji locked his jaw stiffly as the memory of his own death flooded back to him, the impaling pain that made his body electrify with a sensation he had never known before.

            "You may be right, but I am no longer bound by my fate. I never was, and I was given the second chance to live out my life the way I wanted to upon my faulty death."

             The leader snickered as his smirk grew cocky at his response. 
    
    
    “It’s sad really, Mr. Hyuga, that you didn’t just utilize the resources you had to get the revenge you so desperately craved. You really are as pathetic as your father was-,”
    
    
                   He was interrupted by a gasp from one of the guarding men and when he turned he saw at once what had alarmed the guard. 
    
    
                   Tenten was gone.
    
    
                   Her ropes and gag lay in her place below the tree in a discarded pile beside the bark, the stained blood from the lesions on her wrists and ankles sprinkling the bindings with streaks and blotted coordinates. The smile the man had before was now gone as his face sunk in aggravation, the smirk dying as his eyes widened before he turned back to look at Neji who was still facing him from above on the same branch as before, except this time, Neji was the one who gave a smile. 
    
    
                   “’Pathetic’, you say? Perhaps you are right. However, unlike my father and I, you have the lowest rank of intelligence known to man and that will be your downfall.”
    
    
                   “Where is she? The deal was not formally made!”
    
    
                   The small smile that crossed Neji’s lips was now gone as his eyes narrowed, the lilac pearling of his eyes turning darker as he closed them.
    
    
                   “The deal was made the moment you laid your hands on her.”
    
    
                   At once, his eyes opened again, the veins becoming superficial as they pulsated against his skin around his temples, a small inhibited circle drawn in the center of his iris as his glare sent shivers through the dumbfounded leader that could only swear at his own foolishness.
    
    
                   “And I can’t let you run off and continue to kidnap young women in neighboring villages after what you did to her.”
    
    
                   Neji launched himself from the cedar branch, leaping as he landed several feet away from the leader, his palms facing towards his opponent as he positioned himself in his stance. It had happened so quickly that the men hired to guard their leader was caught by surprise and were delayed in attempting to induce Neji to the irritation of the targeted man. 
    
    
                   “What are you waiting for? Kill him!” he shouted.
    
    
                   In a frenzy, Neji saw them coming for him on all sides. Though they were much larger and had more muscle mass than him, he knew that he could easily take out all of them with his rotation if he just timed it right-.
    
    
                   “LEAF HURRICANE!”
    
    
                   Lee came down from the canopies, his entrance greeted with the falling and fluttering of glittering autumn leaves, his legs elongated and his body spinning as his ankle made contact with the jaw of the guard that was the closest to Neji, sending him backwards into the other guards as they lost balance at the expense of Lee’s strength. 
    
    
                   He landed with his left foot planted behind him with his torso turned out to the side, the back of his bandaged hand straight and pointed as he watched the guards slam into each other, eventually hitting their backs against the surrounding plethora of trees. With his other arm behind him, Lee gave Neji a thumbs up and a smile that gleamed sparkling teeth as he turned his head to the side to see his comrade. 
    
    
                   “Do not worry, Neji! I will take care of these guys! You go after him.” He said with a bit too much enthusiasm. 
    
    
                   “Thanks, Lee. Where is Shikamaru?” Neji asked briskly. 
    
    
                   “He is going inside the hideout to free the captives and gather them up before the others arrive.”
    
    
                   “And Tenten? Is she somewhere safe?”
    
    
                   “Yes, she is safe from harm.”
    
    
                   “Thank you, Lee.”
    
    
                   “No need to thank me, my eternal rival! Now hurry, let us win this battle as one!”
    
    
                   Neji chuckled.
    
    
                   “Agreed.”
    
    
                   As Lee advanced forward, so did Neji, both changing directions as they charged towards their opponents. Neji lunged towards the leader, the fire in his eyes set ablaze as he targeted the exact points he needed to manipulate to instigate temporary paralysis.
    
    
                   His feet were light against the earth as he carried himself forward, his muscles tightened and ready to finish the fight before it could ever begin. 
    
    
                   Just as he came within inches of the leader, the same smile met him as the man ducked, Neji’s fingertips still reaching out towards the core of his energy. His body had dodged the attack forward and had come up again, his eyes now staring into Neji’s.
    
    
                   “Too slow.”
    
    
                   Neji felt himself get pulled back as the man’s fist made contact with his cheek, sending him backwards but not knocking him off his feet. With his left heel drawn back, Neji regained his balance, sending a small encircling cloud of dirt into the air as he slid back. The veins around his eyes still pulsated against his skin as he studied his opponent. It had left him in a state of shock upon seeing that he had missed in delivering a blow, especially when he was at the advantage of speed and strength. Deep within his abdomen, he felt knots begin to form as his uncertainty rose up like a flame in his chest. 
    
    
                   Something was off.
    
    
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
    
    
                   She waited among the trees, her feet situated underneath her thighs as she let her bare skin press against the wooded brush. Her fingers drew up to her split fabric that covered her chest that now lay partially bare and exposed, taking in the edges and pulling them together so that no skin showed. Her fingers turned into a clenched fist as it held the split pieces together, her heart pounding in her chest as she looked among the leaves, among the sounds of fighting, and among her fears to see the situation that had progressed down below, her eyes drinking in every moment like a poignant film.
    
    
                   Her legs inched out from under her as she enacted the desire to move up the branch to get a better view of the action occurring from down below. 
    
    
                   With her free hand, Tenten reached out, gently pushing away a thin branch that was covered with golden leaves just as Neji was struck.
    
    
                   A small gasp left her lips as she stared, uncertain of whether or not to be confused or worried. 
    
    
                   Neji was one to be careful in avoiding hits and blows from his opponents but this time was different. This time it had seemed like he had been careless in rushing in, almost as if he was fueled by something that was far from winning and more towards the enduring effects of suppressed rage. 
    
    
                   No, it couldn’t have been that. 
    
    
                   Neji wasn’t careless, no matter the situation or the battle. He always had a plan and he always knew how to dodge and block when necessary except this time it had seemed like Neji had met his match. 
    
    
                   Tenten leaned forward, her eyes wide as she watched Neji regain his stance and balance after the punch had sent him back towards his original distance. She saw the conflict that played in his eyes as he said nothing and made no movements, only staring at his opponent with frustration. 
    
    
                   _Neji shouldn’t have missed! He never misses!_ She thought in a panic. _What’s going on? It all happened so quickly that I didn’t get to see the brute dodge Neji’s attack and punch him._
    
    
      
    
    
    
      _Wait a minute… it can’t be. He never appeared like he was a ninja before. Maybe he is like Lee and has mastered taijutsu or perhaps he was just waiting for the right moment to show his true power. Whatever it is, I have to help._
    
    
    
      
    
    
    
    …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
    
    
                   Neji looked into his opponent, staring as he began to piece together the information his chakra levels and placement showed. They looked to be normal or average in comparison to the vast majority of chakra holders although, there was something that was bothering Neji and driving him to his wits end. 
    
    
                   It was the fact that his opponent had both dodged and delivered a blow at the same time.
    
    
                   “What’s wrong, Mr. Hyuga? Afraid that I’ll win the battle?” he sneered as he crossed his arms neatly over his chest.
    
    
                   Neji scowled slightly.
    
    
                   “Well then, I guess I’ll have to show you what I have been hiding.”
    
    
                   It didn’t take more than a few seconds before Neji saw the chakra flow change. Rather than center at the core, it traveled up to the head, etching the brain in flames of red energy.
    
    
                   “Neji, what is wrong?”
    
    
                   He snapped his attention away from the man to look back at his teammate that had done well in taking out the guards. His eyes were wide as they stared at Neji, looking for the answer for the sudden change in his demeanor towards the fight. 
    
    
                   “His chakra flow changed. It’s now flowing up to his head and appears to be concentrating in his brain.”
    
    
                   “Is that even possible?” 
    
    
                   “It is now.”
    
    
                   Neji closed his eyes.
    
    
                   _This has never happened before. I can’t tell what he is planning on doing. Regardless, I don’t have enough information on his abilities to cast a plan._
    
    
      
    
    
    
    “Lee, we are going to have to attack at the same time.” He advised after his eyes opened once more.
    
    
                   “I see. Well then-,”
    
    
                   “You can try all you want but it won’t work.”
    
    
                   Neji focused his attention back to his opponent who continued to sneer at him deviously, only to charge towards Neji, running at a speed only Lee could match, his feet lightly hitting the dust beneath him as he came in fast before leaping forward and landing a sturdy kick outreached towards Neji’s skull. Raising his arms in defense, Neji blocked the kick and shoved the man back as he repealed.
    
    
                   With his palms ready, Neji sprinted towards the man, his hands reaching forward to strike. They went forward and back, tracing the man’s weak points as the flow of chakra radiated upon Neji’s hands with each strike that was blocked. He reached outward, towards the shoulder, to the chest, and to the abdomen, only to be blocked by the man’s forearms and legs. 
    
    
                   Lee jumped afterward as Neji kept the man occupied, his body twisting in the air to get more momentum. With his calf raised, he soared on top of the man, only to be grabbed by the ankle and swung forward, hitting Neji and sending them both flying until Neji’s back slammed against a tree. 
    
    
                   “I told you boys, it won’t work.”
    
    
                   Neji and Lee both groaned at the pain and watched as their enemy stood with his head held high, looking down upon the two as if they were dying animals. 
    
    
                   Without haste, both Lee and Neji took a stand, once again in their positions in preparation for a defense attack. 
    
    
                   Both were tense and stiff as their muscles clenched beneath their skin, making them anxious to fight once more. The last blow had been harsh, sending shockwaves through Neji’s body as his backbone made contact with the hardening bark of the tree. 
    
    
                   But he wasn’t done yet.
    
    
                   His legs lunged forward, bringing his weight down slightly as he dove into the air, leaping over his opponent with ease and landing behind him. As the man let his fist reach out, Neji shifted his footing, making a line of dirt appear beneath his shoe as he pivoted his body away, turning back with his palm leading the way forward, all but two of his fingers turning inward as the core became clear and Neji landed his blow right in the center.
    
    
                   Nothing happened.
    
    
                   Both froze, Neji dumbfounded at the failure in his approach that should’ve caused the man to drop in paralysis. 
    
    
                   _Wait… this isn’t possible! The flow of chakra is still traveling up to the brain. That should’ve stopped the flow completely-._
    
    
      
    
    
    
    Just as he was about to retreat back several paces, the leader’s hand grabbed his throat at a speed only a god could have, lifting him up as he clenched his grip on Neji’s neck.
    
    
                   Lee yelled his name but Neji could only focus directly below him as he was lifted off the ground, grabbing the man’s hand with his own as he tried to pry off the pressure.
    
    
                   “Move and he’s dead.” The man snapped at Lee who was about to advance forward. He halted as sweat began to slide down his temples, a wave of panic seeping through him as his friend’s life once again hung on a weakening thread.
    
    
                   “Want to know a little secret, Mr. Hyuga?”
    
    
                   Neji scowled at the man as he continued to fight for air, trying to swing his leg forward only to be held down by the man’s other free hand.
    
    
                   “I predicted all of your movements. I won’t explain what you already know about my change in chakra flow, considering your own kekkei genkai.”
    
    
                   “With my ability, I am capable of predicting movements, especially when I concentrate all of my chakra into my head. I saw each hit you tried to make and when you thought you had me, I used it to my advantage and now you are under my mercy.”
    
    
                   The grip around Neji’s neck tightened, making him gasp and open his mouth, trying to take in as much air as he could.
    
    
                   With ease, he threw Neji back on the ground, his hand still wrapped around his throat as he pinned him to his back, positioning his own body so that Neji was adhered to limit his movements. With Neji’s legs pinned down by his own, he used his other hand to grab Neji’s headband, pulling it off with a tug and throwing it to the side with a _clang_ as it settled onto the meddled dirt.
    
    
                   “Ah, that’s right! You no longer have the curse mark on your forehead! Which means…”
    
    
                   His fingertips trailed down to Neji’s eyes, still activated by the byakugon. He shut them and tried to turn his head away in the tight grasp, continuing to fight for air as his voice choked out a groan.
    
    
                   “That won’t do,” the man hushed as he forced Neji’s right eye open with the side of his thumb and pointer finger. He began to push gently into Neji’s eye socket, making him release a slight whimper.
    
    
                   “Don’t…” he choked out, his eyes filling with tears at the expense of his pain.
    
    
                   More pressure was applied.
    
    
                   Lee was calling out to Neji and had tried to come forward only to be blocked by the man’s threatening glance. 
    
    
                   _It’s over, isn’t it?_ Neji thought as he saw his vision begin to blur. _This time, it really is the end._
    
    
      
    
    
    
    He loosened his hold on the man’s hand that wrapped around his neck, slowly letting them fall to the ground on his side. Darkness was clouding his vision and his mind from thinking and from acting, the pain in his socket starting to seep through his body as the pressure continued. 
    
    
                   Just as the darkness was beginning to consume him, he felt warmth on his cheek, a soothing touch that befell and dribbled down to his jaw. The pressure was fading around his throat, his vision was starting to clear slowly, and he felt himself begin to gasp for air, coughing and breathing heavily as he lay on his back. 
    
    
                   His opponent that had him pinned to the ground was spilling out boiling blood from his lip, letting it stream like tears down his throat that was spewing out the same hellish liquid. His eyes were bulging from his head and were strained as his mouth gaped open as the arrangement of kunai buried in his neck plunged deeper, severing his arteries and blood flow and even his spinal cord.
    
    
                   Neji stared as the man fell to the side, freeing him from his position and allowing him to sit up.
    
    
                   She stood there, her breath heavy and ragged, her thigh gushing crimson blood with her hands still clutching bloodied kunai. 
    
    
                   It was Tenten.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

The reinforcements arrived sooner than expected, as the group of shinobi had been at a short distance behind Neji, Lee, and Shikamaru, going at a much slower pace as to draw away any suspicion. By the time they had arrived, there was little to be done when it came to fighting and freeing the young women that were locked away behind cells of cold iron. Shikamaru had done well in getting all of the prisoners out safely and into the light once again where sobs of contentment traveled through the air like bristling leaves of gold and amber, their arms wrapped around each other even though they had no relation.

 

            It was the happy ending they had been waiting for.

 

            Without a moment to waste the fallen guards were accounted for and, without proving too much to handle, were bound with chains that were attached together so that they would be forced to march as one until arriving at the gates of the Hidden Leaf Village.

 

            Despite all the conflict and all the ordeals, only one life lay absent as his blood was spattered on the clouded dirt, the kunai removed without hesitation before the leader was laid in a tan bag used for corpses in the case of transportation. He would not be buried with the other ninja, for his life was one of weaker quality and the diminishing actions he committed against the being of women were far too disengaging for forgiveness to occur, especially among the countless families that waited for their daughters, mothers, cousins, and sisters to return.

 

            With the reinforcements were medical specialists who at once began their work on healing any wounds, scratches, or scrapes among the prisoners, drying their tears and giving them packed onigiri made with the compassion of the village as they were treated with the tenderness they had lacked for so long.

 

            The original three-man squad was also examined thoroughly with Neji receiving the most care along with Tenten as Lee and Shikamaru only exhibited a few scrapes and cuts that were primarily caused by the environment rather than the fight.

 

            Tenten sat patiently on the ground, her leg positioned in an upward pyramid as the spearmint glow radiating from a medic’s hands flowed into her thigh, preventing any more blood loss as the elongated incision closed slightly. The wound had been made too deep and had been inflicted too long ago to close up completely as foreign bodies had probably already entered. With the same gentle hands, the medic retrieved a white ribbon of bandages from their back pouch, unraveling the roll gingerly as the strand was wrapped around Tenten’s thigh reasonably tight before it was knotted and cut from the rest.

 

            A blanket had been given to her, primarily to conceal her discomfort at the exposed skin that seeped through the split down the center of her chest. Her face been wiped, ridding the patches of dirt that smeared her cheeks. The broken vessel beneath her bruise was closed and the bruise faded, almost as if it had been a stain of pomegranate juice that had stuck to her skin and Tenten was finally free to move and stand once again.

 

            Water and onigiri were given to her but she declined, her body weak as the weight on her shoulders began to grow heavy with her mind in a state of weariness. But despite her refusal, the medics convinced her she needed to eat and drink and she did so reluctantly with her heart full of thanks.

 

            With the blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders, she neared closer to the awning that lay atop of the medical supplies and food resting upon a table.

 

            That was where Neji was.

 

            Her heart was beating rapidly as she walked closer, pounding in her ears and making her breath become shallow as she started to think of the things she needed to say. She walked passed Lee as he began to call out to her, only to quiet as he looked to where she was headed eagerly. Shikamaru was beside Lee and had also looked towards Tenten, giving Lee a small smile in understanding with Lee returning the same but bigger with a flash from his whitened teeth.

 

            As she approached the clearing she stopped several yards away from where Neji sat, his vest and shirt removed from his torso as the medic allowed the green energy to exert itself from her outstretched hands that hovered over his bare back.

 

            He had become slightly more muscular since the last time she had seen him wearing only a towel at the bathhouse when they were just made chunin. His body was lean and well defined and she couldn’t help but allow the blood flow to pinken her cheeks slightly until her eyes saw the darkened fragments of shattered scars that were on the sides of his chest and abdomen, raggedy and darker than his light skin.

 

            The blush of admiration faded and she turned pale, the fear rising in her throat as the memories of reality continued to play in the forefront of her mind, his death making her relive the nightmares as she lay awake.

 

            He had noticed her presence and looked at her, holding her gaze for a second before she turned away, her lower lip trembling slightly as she walked off behind a layer of trees and into a guarded open space that lay hidden in the vastness of the forest. He called out her name, but she pretended not to hear as she muttered no reply when the trunks of wood swallowed her into their shadows until he could no longer see her back.

 

            She entered into the open space, her eyes nearly filling with tears as she stood in silence, the trees surrounding her as she sought out the presence of loneliness.

 

            _I can’t do this. Neji, I just want to tell you-._

“Tenten?”

 

            His voice had cut off her thoughts and made her stiffen, her body refusing to turn in attention to his arrival. His welcome had been a silent hue as his voice was gentle as he tried not to frighten her with his apparent approach.

 

            When she muttered no reply, she heard him sigh softly underneath his steady breath.

 

            “Tenten, I want to speak with you.”

 

            She finally turned towards him, her head lowered as she refused to meet his gaze.

 

            He had put his black shirt back on before finding her in this darkened state of privacy, leaving his vest behind in a hurry. His arms were folded over his chest, waiting for her to speak first.

 

            No words came from her lips.

 

            “Tenten, are you alright?” he asked as his voice softened once more while he kept a stable distance from her, not moving at her uncertain discretion.

 

            Hesitant, she nodded, her eyes focused on nothing but the memory that reflected in her mind, the pain seeping into her chest.

 

            He was quiet.

 

            The wind blew against them, swaying Tenten’s free locks to the side as several strands covered her face, tickling her cheeks and the tip of her nose as they moved across her feathery skin before falling in place once more.

 

            “What happened to your leg?” he asked tenderly.

 

            _I’ve got to be honest with him. This may be the only chance I ever get._

Slowly, she raised her head, looking slightly up into Neji’s lavender eyes with her dark earth ones, seeing nothing but concern for her, an expression she had seen before but never truly thought much of.

 

            Until now.

 

            She took in a ragged breath before releasing it into the wind with a heavyweight pulling at her heart.

 

            “I… I did it to myself.” She began quietly.

 

            “I saw that you were-,”

 

            _On the verge of death._

            “-in trouble and may needed help. He had said that he could predict your movements but I noticed that his abilities only applied to those he saw in front of him.”

 

            “I panicked and tore a branch from the tree I was watching from and I-,”

 

            His eyes didn’t change.

 

            “-he took my scrolls when I was unconscious, and I had no choice but to use my own blood to create a summoning placement.”

 

            He watched as she timidly moved her palm over to her bandaged thigh that lay beneath her worn clothing.

 

            “You didn’t have to do that Tenten-,”

 

            “I know. I just didn’t know what to do at that moment.”

 

            “I understand.”

 

            The silence lingered on with only the occasional scraping of broken and dead leaves falling against the torn bark of the trees. It was painful, more painful than the wound she had inflicted upon her own flesh. It was the same pain she felt when she saw him fall-

 

            _Dead._

            She swallowed hard.

 

            “Neji-,” she started, narrowing her eyes back towards the ground.

 

            “I’m sorry, Tenten.”

 

            Her eyes widened as she once more looked up to him, seeing that his eyes were looking off to the side, half-closed just as hers had been only moments ago.

 

            “I am at fault for not being able to prevent your capture in the village. I should’ve been much more cautious.” He admitted.

 

            _I’m not ready, I’m not ready, I’m not ready-._

“Neji, I-I need to tell you something.” She stammered as the anxiety swelled inside her torso.

 

            “What is it?”

 

            “I-I wasn’t… in the village, at the time I was- taken.”

 

            She saw his expression change to a hardened stare as he looked deep within her as if he was trying to pinpoint the truth and pull it out for himself to see.

 

            “What do you mean? I didn’t think you were sent out on your own separate mission.”

 

            “I wasn’t on a mission… I snuck out the same night you went on this mission.”

 

            She saw the anger and confusion become apparent in his face and in his darkening irises. She had never seen such an expression at least, not with Neji. He looked more than angry. He looked as if he was trying hard to keep the rage and disappointment inside himself in knowing that she did something so utterly foolish.

 

            “Why would you do that, Tenten? Did you even have permission from the Hokage to do so?”

 

            “No-,”

 

            “Do you understand the consequences that could come out from this?”

 

            She was quiet.

 

            “You were being reckless, and I never thought I would see you do something so foolishly incompetent. You know just as well as I do that we have a sworn devotion to the Hokage’s orders but you broke the ultimate rule.”

 

            His words stung even though she knew he was right. He was always right.

 

            “Neji-,” she muttered softly.

 

            “Tenten, whatever excuse you have needs to go to the Hokage, not to me. We will be heading out soon.”

 

            He turned away from her and her heart once again pounded hard against her sternum as she watched him take stiffened steps back towards the entrance, his footsteps moving in slow motion within her eyes as she opened her mouth with nothing more but the intention to cry out to him, to tell him to stop and to come back, to never leave her.

 

            _No, not again. Please, not again!_

She reached out to him with a muted voice tremoring in her throat as she fought back the burning tears seeping into her eyes.

 

            Whatever it was, whatever phenomenon told her to breathe and to speak, was one she would never forget to thank.

 

            “I left because I was afraid I would lose you again!”

 

            Neji stopped, just before he had approached the way he had come in from, turning his head slightly to look back at her, his own eyes slightly wide at her sudden outburst.

 

             

            “Kakashi told me about this mission, he gave me the details and even though he didn’t give me permission, I knew it was something I needed to do.”

 

            She clenched the ends of the blanket wrapped around her shoulders and where the fabric covered her chest.

 

            “Tenten-,”

 

            She began to shake.

 

            “It isn’t fair that you can just go out on these dangerous missions while I am left wondering if you are alive or not! Do you honestly believe that I hate you and that I didn’t care when you died? It hurt Neji, it hurt more than you could ever imagine! Why was I the one that had to be strong? Why did I have to hold back my grief while everyone else got to express theirs?”

            Neji was now turned towards her, his eyes widening as he watched her frame tremble, her head up and looking directly at him, the free hair framing her face as she continued to fight back the tears that threatened to fall.

 

            “You wanted to change your destiny, didn’t you? Why didn’t you? You could’ve protected them without being a shield and leaving us without saying ‘goodbye’! Do you want to know why I left the village? Why I snuck out without anyone knowing? It’s because-,”

 

           

            The tears started to fall and stream down her cheeks as she cried out.

 

           

            “-It’s because I love you, Neji!”

 

            He watched as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks and drip lightly off her jaw, landing on the soft earth beneath her. He was stunned, to the point of which he couldn’t speak or think, only watch as she poured the truth out to him, all of the pain she had withheld from him all these years.

 

            “I have lived every day in denial of you being alive. I wake up every morning to a nightmare of seeing you dead, completely gone without giving me the chance to tell you how much I loved you and how it is tearing me apart on the inside knowing that you have to live with those scars and those reminders of the pain you never deserved to carry!” she continued through the sobs that were beginning to sputter out with the tears.

 

            She hated crying, this was something Neji knew well. And because she was crying in front of him, real tears running down her slightly flushed cheeks, he was convinced of the truth she was telling him, and it was more than enough in making him feel the same heartache she felt deep within her.

 

            He wanted to take away the pain she was carrying all by herself.

 

            Neji closed his eyes for a moment, his eyebrows knitting together before he opened them again, taking step after step towards her, his feet moving in a rhythm that followed his heartbeat, the same rhythm his destiny wasn’t set on because it was all his own. It was a feeling he had never known before, the feeling of loving something so much that it was difficult to believe that at one point, he never believed in soulmates and that he would always be the caged bird he was cursed to be.

 

            She had been the one to open his damning cage, the same one that locked him away for so long. She had been there when he needed her the most, when he needed to release his withheld energy that came with impatience, and most of all, when he had needed to feel his heart beat again.

 

            As her tears continued to roll, as her lip continued to tremble, and as she reached up with her forearm to try and wipe away the pain, he approached her, standing in front of her and looking at her with narrowed eyes, not in ignorance, but in a gentle manner as he reached his hand towards her face to grab her wrist gently.

 

            She let out a small gasp of surprise at the introduction of his touch, looking up at him with her large brown eyes with tears pooling out of them as he raised her hand up to his chest, placing her palm over his heart to feel the steady beating.

 

            He let go of her wrist to place his own hand on top of hers so that she could feel the pulse radiating from the inside.

 

            “Tenten,” he said softly as a smile tugged at his lips slightly. “My heart still beats and I am still breathing. I am alive and these scars, especially the one over my heart, do not exist to serve as a reminder of my death but to remind me that I have a purpose for living, a reason to stay alive when I felt the world couldn’t get any crueler.”

 

            With his hand gently resting against hers, his other lifted as he placed his palm against her cheek, using the side of his thumb to stroke away the fallen streaks.

 

            _Father, I think I understand what you meant by making my destiny my own._

He released her hand that rested against his chest along with the one that lay against her cheek to wrap his arms around her waist, pulling her into him as his palm gently cradled her head as her chin lay over his shoulder.

 

            _You never meant for me to do it alone. You always wanted me to see the beauty of the world and not be held back from basking in it. That was the destiny you wanted me to provide for myself._

“Neji,” she whispered as she took her palm away from his heart to place it on his back as she clutched onto his shirt, her once trembling frame relaxing into him as he warmed her.

 

            They stayed like that for several moments, sharing the warmth flowing from their bodies in unison, the love between them blossoming like the first tangerines of summer.

 

            He didn’t want to let her go just as she longed for him to stay with her forever.

 

            But it wasn’t enough.

 

            Neji pulled away as Tenten looked up towards him, his arms now wrapped around her waist with the same tenderness apparent in his expression.

 

            Her cheeks flushed a deeper rose as their eyes met with their voices not needing to express anymore, the connection making the world stand still if only, just only, for a moment, with the wind fluttering against their clothed skin and the leaves beginning to swirl gingerly in the breeze.

 

            “Tenten, I love you.”

 

            Her heart skipped several beats, their bodies getting closer as they leaned towards one another, eyes narrowing the closer they got until their lips met, locking together as Tenten turned her head slightly to the side, feeling the softness of his lips against hers as they shared the tenderness their love had been singing out to them all these years.

 

            His grip tightened slightly around her as he pulled Tenten closer to him, their lips still pressed against one another before they reluctantly released, their foreheads touching as they gaped into their souls and found their peace.

 

            “You do?” she whispered underneath her breath.

 

            “Yes.” He sighed in response before pulling away once more, his hold on her never ceasing.

 

            “You never gave me an answer.”

 

            She parted her lips slightly as she remembered his question clearly in her mind, the question he received no answer to and the same one that had broken her in the most beautiful way possible, the memory bringing a small smile to her lips as she chuckled.

 

            “You should know the answer by now, Neji.”

 

            He smirked.

 

            “Perhaps but I want to hear you say it.”

 

            She couldn’t help the blush darkening in her cheeks as she reached up and interlocked her fingers around his neck, her chest pressing against his own, their hearts beating to the same sound of a wonderful melody.

 

            A small tear found its way across her skin as she laughed lightly.

 

            “Nothing would make me happier than marrying you.”

 

            She saw the blood rise to his cheeks as he smiled before she placed her lips back on his, kissing him with all the love she had been hiding from him, all of the relief she felt in telling him, and every ounce of her being so that he knew she belonged to him as he belonged to her.

 

            He kissed her back with the same longing whilst keeping his modesty and only feeling the outside surface of her lips, pulling away along with her for just a mere second before they kissed again, small and sweet pecks as their foreheads rested together and as their bodies held onto one another.

 

            Tenten was still surprised at Neji as he continued to kiss her and while she didn’t feel particularly like a firework about to shoot off into the night sky, she did feel something better:

 

            Love, warmth, and happiness.

 

           

            “Tenten! Neji! Where are you two? We are about to head back to the village!”

 

            They slowly stopped at Lee’s shouting, holding onto each other for a little longer before they both unloosened themselves in their grip, their cheeks both flushed with a pale rose.

 

            Neji cleared his throat with his fist raised up beneath his mouth.

 

            “We should probably head back. Otherwise, Lee might keep yelling.”

 

            Tenten couldn’t help but laugh at Neji’s embarrassment before she gently took his hand into hers, moving ahead of him as she pulled him along.

 

            “Well then, come along genius.”

 

            He sighed as he smiled tenderly at her back as she tugged him behind her, holding her hand tightly as he followed suit.

 

            _Father, I now know my destiny. It was never a place nor a series of changing what my purpose was. It was never a devotion to the unknown in my desperate attempt to escape what I feared. My destiny is a person and I am about to change my fate once and for all by making her my bride._


	15. Chapter 15

“I’m glad to see you all back in one piece after another successful mission.”

 

            Kakashi spun his chair to face the group, leaning forward as he placed his elbows on his polished desk, his fingers interlocked as his hands hovered over his covered mouth, the same posture the last Hokage also had a habit of enacting.

 

            His face remained unchanged and neutral as he studied the four young adults, all seemingly expressing a fatigued state.

 

            Especially Tenten.

 

            It had taken a little more than a complete day for them to return, primarily because Lee was burning with an ungodly amount of anticipation to get back to the village as early as possible. By the time they had seen the gates of the village in the distance, the sun was already starting to sink into the sky without a sound or breath, edging towards its slumber that lay in the horizon, the sky painted with the skins of mango and citrus.

 

            To Tenten’s dismay, there was no time for her to go back to her dwelling and cleanse herself of the grime and discomfort she was forced to endure for a time that had passed by so slowly, primarily due to the rule of reporting to the Hokage’s office as soon as a mission was complete and the group had made it back home.

 

            She was glad, though, to be standing in the office she had grown so accustomed to, the room that held so much responsibility and expectations. It hadn’t changed much since the last Hokage had left and Kakashi was announced as the new Hokage, other than the enormous and rather discouraging piles of documents that lay on either side of his desk, with some nearly taking up half of the office as they stretched taller than Neji.

 

            Her heart swelled the moment they had walked through and had greeted the keepers, knowing that she was home, finally home with two of her dear friends and comrades and the man who would become her husband in due time.

 

            She had trailed behind the rest of the group purposefully as they approached their home that stood off in peace, awaiting their arrival that would then encompass their safety and hearth. No one had seemed to notice her slowing of pace except for Neji who had quietly stopped to wait for her.

 

            He had raised a curious eyebrow at her, turning off slightly as she gaited towards him, a warming smile shaping her lips as she met up to his side, reaching out to take his hand. He grew rigid at the physical gesture more or less because they weren’t alone like they had been a day ago, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks as she gave his hand a tender squeeze before they continued to walk ahead, catching up while still in the back of the group, their hands locked together at their sides with Tenten’s smile still radiating.

 

            They had released after greeting the keepers, knowing full and well that it was time to be professional and to not give away their announcement so early, their hands reluctantly untangling from one another’s warmth just before they walked down the center path that led to the Hokage’s office.

 

            The quadrant stood in a line, side by side, with Lee and Shikamaru towards the left and Neji and Tenten on the right, taking no time in engaging Kakashi in the details of the mission.

 

            The relief of being home was dissolving as the impending dread started to build up like a hastily made flame, burning in her abdomen with the soot rising to her chest. She had broken one of the ultimate rules when it came to leaving the village and while the punishment was not set in stone, she couldn’t help but feel the shame of having to stop being a licensed and fully trained kunoichi.

            She would be forced to give up her dream.

            Well, not entirely.

 

           Because she was standing beside the man who now took over the dreams she carried with her as she awoke to a new morning and fell asleep amidst a different night, the nightmares gone from her mind as she envisioned nothing else but their future, together at last.

 

            Kakashi was speaking to Shikamaru and Neji directly, asking them the center details of the mission and of course, Lee and Tenten stood in silence, knowing to not speak unless further directed to do so. It didn’t matter to Tenten, because she blocked out the exchange of information, watching Neji speak with such a confident yet monotone expression from the corner of her eye.

 

            “I see. So, which one of you did the deed?”

 

            The entrance of Kakashi’s question made Tenten stiffen.

 

            Not only had she fled the village without permission, but she had also taken over a mission that was not assigned to her originally.

 

            Her palms began to sweat as her heart thudded inside her chest rapidly as she waited for Shikamaru to answer for the group until he stopped, his jaw locked as he closed his eyes, not knowing the answer to the question.

 

            Until Neji spoke up.

 

            “Lord Hokage,” he responded calmly, his words clear and precise without a hint of hesitation wavering within them. “Due to the circumstances, it was Tenten who killed him.”

 

            “Why wasn’t it one of you?”

 

            Tenten shivered at the sight of Kakashi’s narrowing gaze at Neji.

 

            “Because-,”

 

            “Because Neji would’ve died if I hadn’t.”

 

            Tenten had interrupted and almost wished she hadn’t. She felt Neji look at her, his eyes tenderly breaching within as if he was trying to give the answers to her through his gaze. He knew that she was capable of saying things that didn’t correlate and if she did that now, her reasoning would be worthless.

 

            Kakashi’s attention was now toward Tenten and while his stare was hard and cold, hers had no fear in them and glimmered with her strength.

 

            “I know what I did was out of line,” she continued, her tone wavering as she felt her heart shudder and slam against her breast. “I know that it wasn’t my mission to carry out and I know that I will have to suffer the consequences of my actions. Please, do not place any of the blame on Neji, Shikamaru, or Lee. They did nothing wrong.”

 

            Kakashi sighed before closing his eyes, the freezing look dimming from his expression as he exhaled against his knuckles.

 

            It was then that the Hokage smiled, his lips hidden beneath his mask as his eyes once again exposed his emotions.

            Tenten caught her breath.

 

            “Well done.”

 

            He cocked his head to the side slightly as his eyes gazed on the dumbfounded group, their expressions rather amusing and difficult to not smirk at.

 

            Kakashi dropped his hands back onto his desk, closing his eyes softly and before Shikamaru could question about any more details, those eyes opened and the smile faded slightly.

 

            “You completed the mission. Now, I want to talk to Tenten and Neji in private. Shikamaru, Lee, you are dismissed. Go home and get some rest.”

 

            Lee straightened, throwing his hand to be slanted in a salute beside his temple.

 

            “Yes, sir! I will now go and walk on my hands around the village 300 times to celebrate our success!”

 

            Shikamaru sighed, placing a hand on Lee’s shoulder.

 

            “You can do that tomorrow. It’s almost night and it will be a real drag if someone sees you doing something as ridiculous as that in the shadows.”

 

            Removing his hand from his comrade’s shoulder, Shikamaru bowed slightly before noticing Lee doing the same.

 

            “Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.”

 

            Neji and Tenten stood next to one another, silent as they heard Lee and Shikamaru’s footsteps exit out the open door, allowing it to close softly behind them.

 

            Tenten was silent, unsure of what to vocalize that would end the awkward pause that exhibited by the door closing.

 

            Thank goodness that the moment didn’t last long.

 

            “The reason why I wanted to speak to the two of you in private,” Kakashi began as the seriousness in his tone and expression once more became apparent. “Is because I need to discuss Tenten’s punishment for leaving the village without permission.”

 

            Neji could feel Tenten stiffen beside him as he glanced down to her hands that lay twiddling behind her back, fidgeting as her fingers knotted themselves with one another as she tried to conceal her anxiety.

 

            “Sir, I know what I did was wrong and I know that I need to deal with the consequences but I just want to say that I apologize for going against your order and for leaving the village without permission, and I-,”

 

            Kakashi held up a steady hand as he allowed the other to fall atop his desk, forcing Tenten to hold her tongue.

 

            “Do not apologize. There is no need. I gave you permission to leave the village.”

 

            “What?”

 

            Kakashi arose from where he was stationed behind his desk, easing up as his hands lay cast away in his pockets. He strode past his confinements, making his way towards the window panes that exposed the entirety of the village with the sun’s light seeping in and painting gold across the wooden flooring. He took a pause to look out and though Tenten nor Neji couldn’t see his face, they knew that his thoughts were full of contentment as he watched the citizens, families, couples, and shinobi begin their trek back home.

 

            A feeling that could only be described as tranquil.

 

            He turned to look at the couple again.

 

            “When I sat down with you and told you every ounce of Neji’s mission, I was hinting to you that I knew you were more than capable of going after him. That, and it would’ve been too much trouble to deal with if you actually disobeyed my orders and left the village.”

 

            “With that in mind, I want you to realize that I also was aware that I wouldn’t be able to stop you from going off on your own. When I was sitting with you in your hospital room, I saw something different in your eyes and the way you looked. It was an expression I couldn’t forget, for it was an expression I had known in my life all too well.”

 

            He sighed as he looked to the ground, resting his eyes for a brief second before turning to look out the window once more.

 

            “And I can see that I did the right thing in letting you go after him.”

 

            Tenten’s mind was in different places all at once as her feelings of disbelief gathered in her chest. It was true that him just telling her classified information was rather strange to her and while she did certainly have a feeling that he was hinting at her that he was fine with her leaving the village, it was also something she suppressed during the moments of her capture. It wasn’t because she thought it was silly to think that way but because she blamed herself for getting into this mess unknowingly with a degrading aura for how the circumstances were to play out.

 

            Her hands and fingers stopped knotting and she laid them next to her sides, the anxiety pouring out in her silent sigh as she felt relief plummet and rid her body of all negative associations and demeanor.

 

            Until she felt something else that was much more comforting.

 

            She felt a hand press against hers and when she had turned, she saw that Neji was looking at her intently, his eyes gentle in nature as well as his generally hard features.

 

            Heat rose primitively to her cheeks as she slowly began to push her hand away from her side so that Neji could intertwine their fingers together, their palms radiating warmth as they pressed together.

 

            Neji gave her hand a tender squeeze and she couldn’t help but smile softly at his affectionate gesture, an act she never would’ve thought he would share with her.

 

            He had changed.

 

            Kakashi turned back, the smile once again returning beneath his mask.

 

            “Congratulations on your engagement.”

 

            Tenten and Neji looked back to Kakashi and then once again to each other.

 

            The warmth grew between them and the circuit that connected their hearts was electrifying.

 

            Neji closed his eyes and leaned forward to give a slight bow.

 

            “Thank you, Lord Hokage.”

 

            They heard Kakashi release an exaggerated groan.

 

            “How many times do I have to tell you kids that you can drop the ‘Lord’? It doesn’t sit with me well.”

 

            Tenten chuckled and Neji smiled.

 

            “Forgive me, Kakashi-sensei.”

 

            Kakashi waved off his words and shared a glimpse back towards the window just as a flight of birds dove into the setting sky, catching both Neji and Tenten’s attention too as they stared in silent awe.

 

            It was a moment that felt like a dream. Almost too real to be real.

 

            But it was, in every way, the reality that belonged to the both of them, the man and woman that started off as kids and grew up in the most beautiful of ways, sharing their love and devotion for one another at the second chance they received, letting it fill them with an angelic array of happiness. It was the same kind of happiness a mother feels when hearing her child cry out for the first time, the same form of happiness a teacher felt when they saw their student follow their dreams and change the world just like they always said they would.

 

            It was happiness unlike no other.

 

               And as the birds took flight, their feathers of crisp marron, blending into the light of the setting sun as they traveled together into the approaching night, Neji understood that he had made the right choice and that he would never experience the same sadness and anger he had felt at the time of his father’s death.

                Instead, his heart would fill itself with the love he gave to the girl-, no- to the young woman that stood next to him, her hand locked together with his as they stared off into the sky together, watching as the birds flew farther and farther away until they were nothing more than a few darkened stars in the degrading light.    

             She looked back to him, letting her thumb stroke the outside of his hand as if she knew what he was thinking.                 She was the only one who possessed such a power, for his neutral and sometimes intuitive expression kept his thoughts and secrets hidden away from the world and from others. There would be moments that he feared in looking towards her in knowing that she had managed to break whatever glass barrier was there to separate him from the outside that is reality.        

         She had pulled him out until he was free.          

      Neji gave her a tender yet small grin, squeezing her hand softly in response before he heard Kakashi clear his throat almost awkwardly from the left side of his office.      

           He saw Tenten flush with embarrassment at the exposure of their affection.       

         “Forgive me for interrupting, but you two should be on your way soon. I’d hate for you to walk around in the dark.” Kakashi stated curtly.        

         “Ah, right. Thank you, Kakashi-sensei.” Tenten responded quickly as her embarrassment only darkened her cheeks.       

           As both Neji and Tenten turned to leave and make their way to the door, they heard Kakashi’s voice from behind.        

        “Oh, one more thing,” he recalled as the couple turned back to look at him once more both with raised eyebrows and curious glances.     

            Kakashi was smiling at them.    

           “Don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.”


	16. Chapter 16

_Flight of the Birds:_

 

 

           

 

            It was cold.

 

            He could feel it radiating against the glass of the window, pouring into the air that mingled in the room’s warmth. There was little to be seen in the sky as the clouds had bundled close together, holding on to each other as if to provide comfort.

 

            There was still some light outside that managed to sink through the cotton suspended in the atmosphere, enough to make the ground visible and the distance invertible from where it stood behind the frost-ridden crystal embedded in the panes.

 

            The room had a warm tone of light, as the chandelier made of diamond shards hung atop the ceiling, glimmering their tender rays as they were hit with just the right amount of exposure. Nearly every element was made of marbling, creamy with intertwining textures of black streaks, except for the walls which bore clear ivory designs shaded with articulate designs and the large curtains that were sewn and stitched with the finest violet dye found in the country.

 

            There were three window panes, each separated by a silver border going from the top to the bottom. Below, a carpet strung of claret expended from the front where he stood, all the way out the broadening oak doors and reached until the building ended from the outside.

 

            It felt different to be standing here, knowing that his cousin had once stood here as well, looking up at the very same window with the very same thoughts he was having.

 

            He recalls standing in front of the door, admiring how grown she had become and how beautiful she was in knowing that her dream was standing right beside her, looking out the same window with his hand in hers.

 

            And now that he was in her position, he knew not what to do or say.

 

            His montsuki attire was fitted to perfection, his hair resting pleasantly against the back of his haori, free from any bindings or restrictions. Upon the jacket were two family crests, both flames of fire embroidered in white and outlined in nickel and tied around his waist was the feathering of a haori himo, the innocent texture standing indifferently to the charcoal coloring of his robe and to the hakama trousers made of thin strips of the same darkness and light.

 

            Against his forehead lay a black band and even though the marking was gone, he still felt odd to not be wearing some kind of fabric against the area of skin, especially since he began doing so with bandages at an early age of childhood.

 

            His arms lay crossed over his chest, waiting and watching as the world unfolded before his very eyes, the dreariness of the cold making his eyes narrow softly, his breath slow and humble as he meditated in full awareness.

 

            He knew what he was waiting for.

 

            He knew who he was waiting for.

 

            Though he hadn’t heard the sound of shuffling footsteps or the gentle breathing that lay engulfed in the room, he felt the presence and knew that the wait would now come to an end.

            Not entirely.

 

            He couldn’t help the amused smirk that formed against his lips as his eyes closed briefly before sighing.

 

            “We’ve known each other for over ten years and you still think you can hide from me unknowingly?” he said without so much of a look in response to the shocked huff that came from behind one of the towering pillars.

 

            “It’s not like I was hiding for long.”

 

            He turned, seeing that her hand rested against the side of the marble pillar, half her face visible as the rest of her body lay hidden. Though he couldn’t see all of her, he still could see the glimmer of mischief reflect against the crystals hanging from the chandelier in the warmth of her sorrel eyes.

 

            On the side of the face he could see, he saw there was a light blush on her cheeks that turned darker upon his gaze and study of her and he couldn’t help but smile tenderly at her.

 

            “Why are you hiding anyway?” he asked, an eyebrow raised slightly at her bashfulness.

 

            He must admit, she looked rather adorable and feminine in her current state.

 

            “I’m not doing it intentionally!” she retorted, the blush once again darkening. “I just…-“

 

            “Then come out and let me see you.”

 

            “N-no! You’re going to tease me.”

 

            “I’ll be seeing you regardless in several minutes. And you know that I would do no such thing.”

 

            “Liar.”

 

            He softened his gaze.

 

            “Please?”

 

            She grumbled incoherently under her breath.

 

            “Fine, but, don’t laugh.”

 

            He felt his breath get stuck in his throat as he saw her timidly retract herself from behind the pillar, her hands clasped in front of her as she allowed the silk of her white kimono, enlaced with flowers and floral designs to gently trail against the floor. Within the kimono was scarlet, which he could see within her long sleeves and wrapped beneath the front of her legs, barely covering her feet dressed in traditional sandals. Against her chest lay a thin red thread, suspended with two-petaled flowers sharing the same color with multiple strands of the same ruby tone wavering down from the flowers.

 

            Her hair was put up, resting comfortably behind her head, close to the back of her neck in an elegant assortment of rose strewn and wrapped braids, held in place by two golden hair pieces on either side, complimenting the shape of birds with red beads trailing down the thin chains.

 

            Her lips were of natural coloring, a tamed rose with glossy texture which shimmered in the light. They had made her look as natural as possible while still giving her features the boldness they deserved.

 

            He couldn’t stop staring.

 

            When she looked to him, after gazing off in embarrassment, she furrowed her brow.

 

            “I know, I look weird-,”

 

            “No.”

 

            His strolled towards her, his own sandals lightly padding against the floor and the carpeted rug until he reached her and held his hand out towards her.

 

            Her lips were parted slightly as she gently placed her hand into his palm, feeling the warmth being shared between their two exposed pieces of skin.

 

            He raised her hand up until it hovered in front of his lips.

 

            With his eyes closed, he leaned forward slightly and planted a kiss on the back of her hand.

 

            When he once again opened his eyes, the pale lavender looked into hers, which now sparkled with both admiration and internal joy.

 

            “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything or any person as beautiful as you, and I doubt I ever will.” He breathed as he lowered her hand back down, still holding on as her fingers adjusted and locked in between his.

 

            The dark blush returned across her cheeks.

 

            He led her beside him, back to where he stood before in front of the window so that the two of them could pass whatever time was left staring out at their home and where they had met as children. She had seemed surprised with the fog that pressed against the glass, suppressed by the cold and her warm exhale as the vapor clung onto the inside of the window.

 

            “Is it really that cold out?” she asked as she lightly put her fingertip against the surface, feeling the frost as it tingled throughout her exposed skin.

 

            “It appears that way.” He answered thoughtfully.

 

            She looked back up at him.

 

            And she could’ve sworn that her heart increased in size.

 

            The real reason she stood idly behind that pillar for only just a few seconds was so that she could get a glimpse of him in his natural being, without noticing her in the room even though he figured out quite quickly to her disappointment.

 

            He was certainly an eye-catcher and the way he kept looking at her made her more bashful than embarrassed. Despite his clothing being in neutral color patterns, he still had the ability to be in the center of attention. His well-mannered demeanor and the way he presented himself in all types of settings just added on to both his character and extremely attractive physical appearance.

 

            But what really made her heart leap and what really made her feel happiness she had never felt before, was not just by seeing him in such a get-up. It was the realization that he belonged to her just as she belonged to him, as their souls were finally given the freedom and chance to link together as one, after years of oblivion on both their parts.

 

            _Is this what it feels like to find your soulmate?_

 

            That thought had echoed in her mind every time she saw him and felt the pulsing in her heart grow intense.

 

            Even now, after an entire year of dating and courting, she still felt the emotions she had felt when he had first told her that he loved her.

 

            She squeezed his hand tenderly.

 

            “Do you think we chose the appropriate date? I’d really hate for everyone to freeze to death before the ceremony begins.” She wondered, worry apparent in her tone.

 

            He was quiet for a moment.

 

            “I think we chose the perfect date,” he answered fondly. “Besides, the ceremony and reception will be held indoors for the sake of everyone. You needn’t worry about such an issue.”

 

            The silence lingered on for a few seconds as she stared out the window, watching as the small gusts of wind blew the elongated branches of the now naked cherry blossom tree that hung overhead. Some petals had still managed to hang on tightly to their bark while others continued to let go and waver away until they could be seen no more.

 

            But it was still so beautiful.

 

            She released his hand and he turned to look down at her, only raising his eyebrows slightly as she was now standing in front of his face, her dress lightly brushing the floor in response to her movements.

 

            Her expression was serious as her eyebrows knitted together and her lips formed a neutral frown, her gaze troubling him slightly.

 

            “Is this what you want?”

 

            She was staring intently into his eyes, awaiting his answer almost impatiently. He calmed his confusion by giving her the same seriousness, staring into her eyes as he whispered.

 

            “Yes.”

 

            She sighed and closed her eyes, a smile replacing the frown on her lips as she placed her hand in the center of her breasts.

 

            “Thank goodness. I was worried you were having doubts about this.”

 

            “Is this what you want?”

 

            Her eyes opened wide and saw that he was looking at her in a way that made her shiver every time. It was how he got answers out of the most private of people and how he got his way in most arguments. Just one stare was enough to make the best liars tell the truth.

 

            With her eyes half-lidded, she took her hand that had been placed against her chest and raised it up to his temple, her fingertips lightly brushing away some stray bits of his dark hair as she tucked them behind his ear. Her smile and her touch lit a torch within his chest as he softened his gaze, knowing what her answer would be.

 

            “This is more than what I could ever want.” She answered in a hushed voice as his hand met hers near his cheek, gently clasping his fingers around the back.

 

            “I feel the same way.”

 

            He kept his hold on her as she retracted her hand back down towards their sides, their eyes never leaving each other like a reflection in a mirror as their bodies had migrated slightly closer and she removed her hand from his to link around his arm, resting the side of her head on his shoulder as they both turned back to the window.

 

            They honored the quiet time that passed in between their breaths, watching peacefully as they waited for the time to go by slower so that they could send each silent minute in one another’s company, knowing that for the rest of the day they would never be alone.

 

            It was a strange feeling to be in such a situation.

 

            If things had been different and the miracle hadn’t happened, he wouldn’t be there, dressed as he was and in the company of the woman he finally got to confess his love to, knowing that he would be spending the rest of his life with her in due time.

 

            He was grateful, if not more than so. His outlook on life had been reborn, just as his realization that it was alright to love someone, even if it meant that the chance of being with them was slim. He had been fortunate in making this work as the chances had been too damning to see before the moment his life was draining out with his blood, soaking into the soil around him like decaying flowers. Up until that point, he took in no knowledge of his emotions towards her or to others and in knowing how much she meant to him did he change.

 

            He was still the same man he was before, but he was alive, more alive than he ever was in the past, not because he could breathe, but because he had nothing holding him back this time, telling him when he was allowed to inhale and exhale.

 

            Whatever the future had in store, he wouldn’t dread it. Because he wouldn’t be going through anything alone anymore and he knew that she wouldn’t let him isolate himself from his feelings and from the truth the world was telling him ever again.

 

            He felt her shift beside him and glanced at her uneasy expression.

 

            She was looking away, down towards the ground as her eyes reflected conflict and deep concern.

 

He turned his head towards her and nudged her gingerly.

 

            “What is it? You seem nervous,” he asked as she met his look hesitantly.

 

            “Well, I guess I am a little nervous, but there has been something I can’t stop thinking about.” She mumbled under her breath.

 

            When he didn’t respond, she sighed, knowing that he was awaiting her answer.

 

            “It’s just that- you’re gonna think I’m ridiculous-,”

 

            “How will I be able to think you are ridiculous if you do not tell me?”

 

            _Damn._

            “Alright, fine. It’s just that… well, I-… do you think… your father would like me?”

 

            The question had surprised him but he didn’t allow it to influence his calm expressed as he blinked several times before answering and he saw her face carry a gentle rose that filled her cheeks.

 

            “I can’t be certain of what my father would think of you,” he began steadily, looking back towards the outside world hidden away behind a thin string of glass. “But he would probably think you were independent and high-strung at times. He may have not even seen how you and I could work out.”

 

            He saw her narrow her eyes as they began to water and he turned to face her, cupping her face in his hands as he raised her face up so that she could see the truth behind his eyes.

 

            “However, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that my father wouldn’t be against me marrying you. If anything, he would be proud of me for choosing someone like you because there is no one else alive that could be the same as you.”

 

            Her brown eyes grew wide and as a tear managed to slip away and slide down her cheek. Before it could proceed to her jaw, he stroked it away.

 

            He didn’t want her to feel sadness on this day.

 

            He didn’t want her to keep her sadness to herself.

 

            If she was ever filled with such pain, he forbade from her suffering alone.

 

            That would never happen, not ever again.

 

            “And… would he approved of me?” she muttered as took hold of the back of his hands with her palms, allowing him to feel more of her warmth.

 

            “Absolutely.” He responded immediately, giving her a small smile before he allowed his hands to remove themselves from her cheeks and from her hold as he instead placed them on her shoulders, smirking as he saw her look of disappointment.

 

            “What makes you say that so confidently?” she huffed with a raised eyebrow.

 

            “Look outside.”

 

            They both turned at the right time to see the puffiness of snow begin to fall from the sky, the frost forming beautiful crystalized sculptures as the ice landed on the almost bare cherry blossom tree branch above them.

 

            It came gently and rather quickly, not enough to be considered a snow storm but enough to make a child smile and wait impatiently to go outside.

 

            Falling, fluttering, and dancing in the chill of the infant breezes, the flakes spun before making their landing on the solid surfaces outside, sticking and absorbing into one another as several shared the same site. From their place at the window, they saw the surprised looks the villagers gave as they turned to look at the sky, some holding grimaces of the cold while others couldn’t help but smile and let their tongue stick out eagerly to catch the white clouds that fell from the heavens.

 

            Children started to run down the streets, jumping and laughing as they allowed the snow to fall, twirling at the same pace as the breath of wind before running off again to gather more of their friends, their parents shouting at them to be home by dinner.

 

            It was amazing to see how such a small change in weather changed people and how many memories it gave, whether good or bad, memories that were meant to be forgotten or kept. For him, he would always keep the memory of his father who taught his son how to break away and establish his own destiny and how to grow into the man he is today.

 

            _Father, look! It’s snowing!_

His childhood voice echoed in his mind as did the image of his father smiling up at the sky before looking towards his son and seeing such happiness in the eyes they shared, wanting nothing more than for his child to feel that same kind of happiness for the rest of his life.

 

            Which was beginning now.

 

            He saw her smile widen beside him as she gasped happily, pressing her palm against the pane of the window, looking closer and into the world that was playing out in front of them, the childish gleam of curiosity making her eyes light up.

 

            _Of course, he would approve of you._

_He would adore you._

_He would love you._

_And he wouldn’t want anyone else to be my wife._

_You are the happiness he wanted me to have._

She was saying something excitedly to him, looking at him every so often but he was too lost in the way her eyes shined and how beautiful she was to listen.

 

            _She's… has she always been…?_

No, this was the first time he had seen her like this, not as a teammate or comrade, not as some girl he was forced to work with, or the strong woman she grew into.

 

            For the first time, he wasn’t seeing her from his normal view. He was seeing into her spirit, into what made her tick and what made her smile.

 

            He was seeing his new life for the first time.

 

            She caught him staring and tilted her head to the side slightly, raising an eyebrow before asking if he was alright.

 

            And instead of answering, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest, holding her close as his lips and jaw lay against the side of her throat and as she gasped in surprise.

 

            Her arms found their way to his body soon, holding him closer to her as her hands rested against his back, breathing in his cooling scent as she closed her eyes, not wanted to rid herself of the warmth and love that was pouring into her heart.

 

            He had never known such happiness to exist.

 

            He never thought he deserved it.

 

            But as she lay in his embrace, he saw that whatever existed in the past, whatever made his hatred turn against others and himself, was now gone away in the cold wind that blew sparingly outside, something he would never feel or see again.

 

            It had always been there, back then when they were several years younger. The friendship, the bond they shared was always just, never going further out of fear of the truth behind their feelings. She was just as afraid as he was and because of that, he thought it was simply fated that they were never to be together, that maybe she was not feeling what he was feeling.

 

            They both did well in hiding it until…

 

            He didn’t want to think about it.

 

            She didn’t either.

 

            He could tell by the way she held him, how tight her grip had gotten around him the more she eased into his chest that she meant every word and every breath she took in his presence. She meant every laugh, every smile, every tear, and every argument she ever had with him because she loved him.

 

            It was all because she loved him.

 

            A feathery voice cleared behind them and they instantly released each other, flushing as they turned to the direction of the person whose voice had interrupted their moment of solitude.

 

           

            His cousin, as quiet as she was, had managed to catch their attention as she stood in front of the foreboding entryway that was still closed and out of site to their view.

 

            Her hands were clasped in front of her elegant lavender silk robe that was also embroidered with flowers and a darker violet sash tied beneath her breasts. The matching color of her hair, a shimmering plum, complemented the robe well as the strands hung down, past her shoulders and down her back. Her own golden wedding band gleamed in the light, flashing slightly towards them as her hands lay positioned in front of her, her eyes matching the soft lilac of her cousin’s as she gave a gentle smile.

 

            “I’m so sorry for interrupting,” her voice rang out quietly as she tried to hide her embarrassment in interrupting their time together. “But it’s about time to head that way. Are you two ready?”

 

            The couple looked at one another, nodding before turning back, giving his cousin a warm smile.

 

            “I believe we are. Is everything already set up?” he asked calmly.

 

            “Yes,” his cousin responded with a curt nod. “My father has already made sure of everything. He should be on his way.”

 

            Before she could finish, the large door behind her cracked, revealing the face of his uncle and his cousin’s father, whose hair had turned a slight silver on either side of his temples, but still remained long and dark in the back. He was also dressed in the appropriate dark wedding attire for the men of the family.

 

            He was always a stern serious man, his thoughts left to the imagination of spectators, but now, he looked at peace, humbled with the situation, though his nephew knew that he was still wary about his own decision to allow him to marry the woman of his choosing.

 

            When he saw the couple, standing several meters away from his place at the cracked viewing of the door, he gave a reaffirmed smile before stepping inside completely, shutting the door behind him so that the crack disappeared.

 

            His daughter greeted him with a slight bow before moving off to the side slightly, allowing him to share the small area before the entry.

 

            “Everything is ready. We just need to wait for the clan’s marriage administrator to enter.” He said huskily, the exhaustion creeping into his tone slightly as his voice was strained for words.

 

            His hands were behind his back, an odd position for the leader of the clan, leaving his nephew to wonder about the abnormal gesture his uncle was presenting before him.

 

            His uncle immediately took notice of his nephew’s concerned expression and sighed before adjusting his hands so that they now faced in front, cradling a picture frame that held the face of a father who would be missing his son’s wedding, the day he had been looking forward to since the birth of his child.

 

            The son stared at the picture, softening his gaze as he watched his uncle approach him, the glass holding the photograph in place glazing over as he passed underneath the light.

 

            His uncle now stood before his nephew, his eyes closing as he breathed in a mindful inhale.

 

            “He would be so proud of you,” his uncle said as he opened his aging eyes, a small smile appearing across his lips.

            “Uncle-,”

 

            “Before he died, he told me how upset he was going to be when the time came for you to marry. He wanted to be here for you and to see you start a new life,” his voice was gentle as he removed his right hand from the frame to place it upon his nephew’s shoulder.

 

            “Though he isn’t here physically, remember that he is always here, watching over you and your soon to be wife.”

 

            He turned and gave his smile to a surprised and rather bashful woman that took beside his nephew, a look she never thought she would get from him, especially in these circumstances.

 

            He took leave of his hand on his nephew’s shoulder, returning it to hold the picture back in a steady grasp in front of his torso. He turned, walking back towards the door until he was standing next to his daughter, looking at the couple with his returned seriousness and demeanor before clearing his throat.

 

            The door cracked open once more, and his other daughter, dressed in a citrus orange robe that matched the same embroidery as her sister’s, poked her head through before catching a glimpse of the couple, nearly bursting inside with her very long, brunette locks flowing behind her, with the strand of her bangs flowing across her face.

 

            She was the more flamboyant one of the family.

 

            She nearly toppled over her cousin and his bride, only to be stopped short by her own sense.

 

            “You look incredible!” she gasped as her eyes lit up, darting her gaze from the bride to the groom eagerly.

 

            She reached down, taking both their hands, joining their hands together with her own at the bride’s sudden chuckle and the groom’s exaggerated sigh of contentment.

 

            “Don’t worry,” she whispered, releasing their hands to spin over to her cousin’s side, standing up on her toes to cup her mouth to hide her whisper into his ear.

 

            “After the ceremony, you two will have some alone time, if ya know what I meeeeaannnnn-,”

 

            Her sister called her name and after giving her cousin a mischievous grin, she trotted back over to her father and sister, turning to face the same direction as the two.

 

            “Well, by your entrance, it is safe to assume that it is time?” the bride asked humorously.

 

            The younger cousin nodded, clasping her palms together as she blushed excitedly.

 

            His two cousins slowly made their way out, leaving their father behind to face the two-betrothed couple, their hands interlocked at their sides.

 

            “Neji, Tenten, let us go.”

 

            Hiashi freed one of his hands from the frame, pressing it against the steady wood of the large barrier, opening it as the light shown in, the entrance to their new life opening before them.

 

            Before they moved, they turned to each other, looking into one another’s eyes.

 

            Tenten saw love.

 

            Neji saw love.

 

            They both were deeply in love and with just that eye-contact, their future and destiny were sealed and the eternity they were meant to spend together was starting.

 

            They nodded at each other, before taking step after step forward, reaching just shy of the entrance.

 

            _Father,_

_Please watch over us. Protect her when I am unable to and show me how to be a good husband for her._

_She is my everything._

_And she is the destiny you wanted me to have._

Time had stopped, the ticks becoming engulfed in the silence as they were consumed by the radiant gleams pouring into the room, hiding their shadows of doubt and of fear, allowing them to leave behind all that was holding them back and all that belonged in the past.

 

            And as the snow continued to fall, as he saw from the corner of his eye Tenten smile as she faced forward into their future, Neji had finally managed to open his cage and though the curse was no longer there and he suffered no more, he found the courage to take flight because he knew he would no longer have to fly alone.

 

            With a final silent creak, the door shut and their new life together had begun.

 

 

 

 

END.


End file.
